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THE 


LIFE  OF  ¥ESLEY; 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM. 


ROBERT  SOUTHEY,  ESQ..  LLD. 

WITH 

NOTES  BY   THE  LATE   SAMUEL  TAYLOR  COLERIDGE,   ESQ.,  AND 
REMARKS    ON    THE    LIFE    AND    CHARACTER    OF  JOHN 
WESLEY,  BY  THE  LATE  ALEXANDER  KNOX,  ESQ. 

EDITED  BY 

THE  REV.  CHARLES  CUTHBERT  SOUTHEY,  M.A., 

CURATE  OF  COCKEBMOUTH. 

Secontr  American  Strttfon, 

WITH  NOTES,  ETC., 

BY  THE  REV.  DANIEL  CURRY,  A.M. 


IN    TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  II. 


NEW  YORK: 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
82  CLIFF  STREET. 

184  7. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-seven,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Disti-ict  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


VOL.  II. 


CHAP.  XVIL 

John  Oliver           ....  7 
Severity  of  his  father  . 
Falls  into  despiiir  and  throws  hir 

self  into  the  river 
Attempts  suicide  a  second  time  . 
Runs  away  from  home  . 
Is  permitted   to  follow  his  own 

course,  and  becomes  a  preacher  .  JO 

John  Pawson       ....  11 
Opposed  by  his  father    .      .  .12 

His  vindication  of  himself  .  .  13 
The  father  is  converted  .      .  .14 

Pawson  becomes  melancholy     .  15 

He  receives  the  assurance     .      .  16 

Becomes  a  preacher  ...  16 
Alexander  Mather       .      .  .16 

Joins  the  Rebels  in  1745      .      .  17 

Is  delivered  to  justice  by  his  father  17 

Goes  to  London,  and  marries  there  17 
Objects  to  working  at  his  business 

as  a  baker  on  Sundays       .      .  18 

Is  admitted  by  Wesley  to  preach  19 

Excessive  exertions  at  this  time    .  20 

Cruelly  used  by  a  mob  .  .  20 
Account  of  the  change  wrought  in 

him  by  religion    .      .      .  .21 

Thomas  Olivers  ....  22 

A  reprobate  boy  and  young  man   .  23 

Affected  by  hearing  Whitefield  .  24 
Rejected  by  one  of  Whitefield's 

preachers   24 

Attends  the  Methodists      .      ,  25 
His  exertions  as  a  preacher   .      .  26 
Suffers  dreadfully  from  the  small- 
pox   27 

Pays  all  his  debts    ....  27 

Attacked  by  the  mob  at  Yarmouth  29 

His  deliberation  concerning  mar-  29 

riage   29 

Hia  settlement  at  London      .      .  31 

CHAP.  XVIII. 

John  Haime   32 

His  first  stage  of  doubt  and  despair  33 
In  the  act  of  committing  blasphe- 
my he  is  frightened  by  a  bustard  33 
Enlists  as  a  soldier  ....  34 
Is  driven  to  despair  by  one  of  White- 
field's  preachers  ...  35 
Charles  Wesley  comforts  him  .  35 
Goes  to  the  continent  ...  35 
Forms  a  society  in  the  army  in 

Flanders   36 

Brings  one  of  his  comrades  to  a 

court-ioartial  for  blasphemy   .  36 


Is  in  the  battle  of  Fontenoy  .  3 
His  second  state  of  despair       .  3 
He  continues  to  preach,  notwith- 
standing   3 

Admitted  as  a  traveling  preacher  4 
The  disease  leaves  him  when  an 

old  man   4 

He  dies  in  the  fullness  of  hope  .  4 
Sampson  Staniforth      .      .  .4 

His  profligate  life  in  the  army  .  4 
Converted  through  the  means  of  a 

comrade   4 

Describes  a  vision  in  which  he  is 
persuaded  that  hia  sins  are  for- 
given   4 

Marries,  and  leaves  the  army    .  4. 

Settles  as  a  preacher     .      .      .  4t 

His  happy  old  age      ...  4' 

George  Story   4J 

His  miscellaneous  reading  .      .  4! 

His  search  after  happiness    .      .  5( 

Becomes  an  unbeliever      .      .  5( 

Uneasiness  of  his  mind  .      .      .  5; 

Reasons  with  the  Methodists  .  5: 
Joins  them  from  the  workings  of 

his  own  mind      .      .      .  .a 

Never  becomes  an  enthusiast    .  5i 

CHAP.  XIX. 
Provision  for  the  lay  preachers  .      .  5* 
Allowance  for  their  wives    .      .  5i 
Wesley  establishes  a  school  at  Kings- 
wood    5( 

System  of  education  there     .      .  5( 

Lady  Maxwell   5i 

III  management  of  the  school       .  5( 

Conference  of  the  preachers      .      .  6( 

CHAP.  XX. 

Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions    .  65 

The  moral  or  Adamic  law  .  .  K 
Spiritual  death,  or  the  death  of  the 

soul  a  consequence  of  the  Fall     .  61 

Hence  the  necessity  of  a  new  birth  6' 

Justification   61 

Sanctification   6i 

Instantaneous  deliverance  from  sin  6! 

Salvation  by  faith      .      .      .      .  7( 

What  is  faith  1       .      ,      .      .  7( 

Revelation,  a  perpetual  thing   .      .  7] 

The  inward  evidence  of  Christianity  71 

Faith,  the  free  gift  of  God  .      .      .  75 

Witness  of  the  Spirit     .      .      .  T. 

Assurance  reasonably  explained      .  1' 

Perfection   7; 

Chain  of  beings  .      .      .      ,      ,  T 


4 


CONTENTS. 


Diabolical  agency  .... 
Day  of  Judgment 
The  Milleniam  .... 
Opinions  concerning  the  brute  crea 

tion  

Wesley's  perfect  charity 

CHAP.  XXI. 
Discipline  of  the  Methodists 
Wesley's  supremacy 

Circuits  

Helpers,  in  what  manner  admitted 
The  twelve  rules  of  a  Helper  . 
Forbidden  to  engage  in  trade  . 
Advice  respecting  their  diet 
Frequent  change  of  preachers 
Early  Preaching 

Local  Preachers  .... 

Leaders  

Bands  

Select  Bands  .... 

Watch-nights  

Love-feasts  

Settlement  of  the  Chapela 
Their  structure  and  plan  . 
Psalmody  


Pa«re 
77 
78 
79 

79 
81 


99 
100 
101 


CHAP.  xxn. 

Methodism  in  Wales  .  .  .  .104 
Origin  of  the  Jumpers  .  .  .105 
Methodism  in  Scotland  .  .  ,  105 
Whitefield  invited  thither  .  .  105 
Conduct  of  the  Associate  Presbytery 

of  the  Seceders  tow  ard  him   .  .105 
Attacked  from  ihe  pulpit  at  Aberdeen  108 
His  success  in  Scotland     .      .      .  108  ] 
Finds  access  to  people  of  rank      .     110  | 
Whitefield's  talents  not  to  be  esti- 
mated by  his  printed  works  .      .  Ill 
His  manner  of  preaching       .      .  113 
Scene  at  Cambuslang        .      .      .  IIG 
Opposition  to  the  Seceders     .      .  117 
Their  enmity  to  Wesley    .      .  .118 
Wesley  complains  of  the  indifference 

of  the  Scotch      ....  120 
His  opinion  of  John  Knox  .      .      .  121 
Arrested  at  Edinburgh    .       .       .  121 
Thomas  Taylor's  adventures  at  Glas- 
gow  15H 

CHAP.  XXIH. 
Methodism  in  Ireland  .       .  125 

Ferocious  superstition  mingled  with 

Christianity  125 

Attachment  of  the  Irish  to  popery  126 
The  Reformation  injurious  to  Ireland  126 
Berkeley's  hints  for  converting  the 

people  127 

Wesley's  favorable  opinion  of  the 

Irish  129 

The    Methodists    are  nick-named 

Swaddlers       ....  129 
Riots  against  them  at  Cork       .      .  130 
Whitefield  nearly  murdered  at  Dublin  135 
Animositv  of  the  Catholics      .      .  136 
Thomas  Walsh     ....  136 
He  renounces  the  Romish  Church  137 
Becomes  a  Methodist  .      .      .  140 
Preaches  in  Irish    .      .      .  .141 


Sanctity  of  his  character  .  .  143 
Wesley  becomes  popular  in  Ireland  146 
Cases  of  Methodism  .  .  .  147 
The  plunder  of  a  wreck  restored  .  149 

CHAP.  XXIV. 
Wesley  in  middle  age    .      .       .  152 
Charles  Wesley  marries    .      .      .  152 
John  takes  counsel  concerning  mar- 
riage  152 

Marries  Mrs.  Vizelle  .  .  .  .153 
Her  jealousy  and  insufferable  conduct  154 
Their  separation  .  .  .  .157 
Tendency  of  Methodism  to  schism  .  158 
Wesley  favors  the  arguments  of  the 

separatists  159 

But  opposes  the  separation  .  160 
James  Wheatley       .      .      .  .163 

James  Relly  164 

Scheme  of  the  Rellyan  Universallsta  165 
Antinomianism  ....  166 
Excesses  at  Everton  ....  168 
Wesley  suspects  their  real  character  174 
Controversy  with  Bishop  Lavington  178 
With  Warburton       .      .  .179 

George  Bell  180 

Maxfiiild  separates  from  Wesley  .  182 
Prophecy  of  the  end  of  the  world  .  184 
Wesley's  Primitive  Physic  .  .  185 
He  recovers  froin  a  consumption  .  186 
His  epitaph,  written  by  himself    .  187 

CHAP.  XXV. 
Progress  of  Calvinistic  Methodism    .  188 
Whitefield's  courtship   .      .  .188 

His  marriage  189 

He  preaches  in  Moorfields  during  the 

Whitsun  holydays  ...  190 
First  Methodist  Tabernacle  built  .  193 
Lady  Huntingdon  ....  193 
Whitefield  invited  to  preach  at  her 

house  194 

She  becomes  the  patroness  of  the 

Calvinistic  Methodists  .  .  195 
Founds  a  seniinary  for  them  at  Tre- 

vecca  196 

Death  of  Whitefield  .  .  .197 
Minutes  of  Conference  of  1771  .  .  198 
Lady  Huntingdon  offended  at  these 

Minutes  199 

Mr.  Fletcher  199 

Mr.  Shirley's  Circular  Letter  concern- 
ing the  Minutes   ....  202 
Meeting  at  the  Conference,  and  appa- 
rent reconciliation  ....  202 

Controversy  203 

Mr.  Toplady  204 

Fletcher's  controversial  writings  .  207 
Abuse  of  Wesley  .  .  .  .209 
Wesley's  sermon  upon  Free  Grace  210 

CHAP.  XXVI. 

Wesley  attempts  to  form  a  union  of 

clergymen  218 

Rev.  VVilliam  Grimshaw      .      .  219 

Dr.  Coke  222 

Tendency  to  schism  ,  .  ,  224 
Erasmus  the  Greek  Bishop  .  .  225 
Baptism  by  immersion  .      .      .  227 


CONTENTS. 


6 


Page 

Wesley's  manner  of  dealing  with 

crazy  people       ....  227 
Coses  of  infidelity      ....  2*28 
His  own  stasje  of  doubt  .      .      .  229 
He  encourages  a  certain  kind  of  in- 
sanity  229 

Is  easily  duped  ....  2^10 
His  excessive  credulity  .  .  .  231 
He  publishes  the  Arniinian  Magazine  232 

CHAP,  XXVII. 
Methodism  in  America     .      .      .  234 
Society  formed  at  New  York  by  Philip 

Embury  and  Captain  Webb  .  235 
Mr.  Wesley  sends  preachers  .  .  23(i 
Their  progress  interrupted  by  the  war  237 
Wesley's  "  Calm  Address"  .  .  237 
Attacked  by  Caleb  Evans  .  .  239 
Defended  by  Mr.  Fletcher  .  .  .239 
Wesley's  Observations  on  Liberty,  in 

reply  to  Dr.  Price  .  .  .242 
He  instructs  his  preachers  in  America 

to  refrain  from  politics  .      .       .  244 
The  English  preachers  obliged  to  fly  245 
The  sectarian  clergy  refuse  to  admin- 
ister the  ordinances  to  the  Method- 
ists  245 

Impossibility  of  obtaining  episcopal 

ordination  in  America  .  .  246 
The  American  Methodists  ordain  for 

themselves  247 

Asbnry  sets  this  aside,  and  refers  the 

atfair  to  Mr.  Wesley   .      .      .  247 
Wesley  resolves  to  ordain  priests  for 
America,  and  consecrates  Dr.  Coke 

as  a  bishop  248 

His  letters  of  ordination  .  .  .  249 
Dr.  Coke  sails  for  New  York    .      .  251 

Meets  Asbury  252 

Conference  at  Baltimore  .  .  .  252 
Scheme  of  the  Methodist  Church  in 

America  253 

Their  address  to  Washington  .  .  2.54 
Foundation  of  Cokesbury  College  .  255 
Discipline  of  the  College  .  .  .256 
Popularity  of  Dr.  Coke  .  .  .257 
He   makes   himself  obnoxious  by 

preaching  against  slavery  .  .  258 
Forest-preaching  ....  259 
Riotous  devotion  at  their  meetings  .  260 
Benjamin  Abbott  .  .  .  .261 
Rule  respecting  spirituous  liquors  .  264 
Odd  places  in  which  Dr.  Coke  preach- 
ed  265 

He  complains  of  the  location  of  the 

preachers  266 

Rapid  increase  of  the  Methodists     .  266 

CHAP.  XXVIII. 

Methodism  in  the  West  Indies  .  268 
Mr.  Gilbert  forms  a  society  in  Antigua  268 

John  Baxter  269 

History  of  an  Irish  family  .  .  .  270 
Coke  is  driven  to  the  West  Indies  270 
He  is  well  received  at  Antigua  .  .  271 
Visits  the  neighboring  islands  .  272 
His  second  voyage  to  the  West  Indies  273 
Lands  in  Barbadoes  .  .  .  274 
Methodism  proscribed  in  St.  Eustatius  274 


Rash  conduct  of  Dr.  Coke     .       .  275 
He  is  hospitably  entertained  in  Ja- 
maica  277 

Begs  money  for  the  West  Indian  Mis 

sions  277 

Methodists  become  unpopular  in  the 

Islands  278 

Effects  of  enthusiasm    .      .      .  279 

Riots  281 

Numbers  at  the  time  of  Wesley's 
death       ...  .      .  283 

CHAP.  XXIX. 
Settlement  of  the  Conference       .  284 
Offense  given  by  the  Deed  of  Decla- 
ration     .      .      .      .      ,      .  286 
Easy  terms  of  admission       .      .  287 

Dress  289 

Amusements  .      .      .      .      .  292 

Laughter  293 

Kingswood  School  ....  295 
Yearly  covenant        ....  297 
Alarming  Sermons  ....  298 
Effects  of  Methodism  upon  the  edu- 
cated classes  304 

Riches  308 

Little  real  reformation  in  the  great 

body  310 

Moral  Miracles      ....  313 

Prisons  315 

Effect  of  Methodism  upon  the  Clergy  316 

Political  effects  317 

Wesley  ordains  preachers  for  Scot- 
land  317 

Injudicious  conduct  of  some  magis- 
trates in  Lincolnshire     .      .      .  318 
Wesley's  letter  to  the  bishop       .  318 

CHAP.  XXX. 
Wesley  in  old  age     ....  320 
His  excellent  health  and  spirits     .  320 
Cured  of  a  hydrocele  ....  321 
Removes  from  the  Foundry  to  the 

City-Road  321 

Lay  pre.nchers  jealous  of  Charles  .  322 
Musical  talents  of  Charles's  sons  .  323 
One  of  them  becomes  a  Papist  .  .  324 
Wesley's  letter  upon  this  subject  .  324 
His  controversy  with  the  Roman 

Catholics  325 

Account  of  his  health  in  his  72d  year  325 
He  outlives  all  his  tirst  disciples  .  326 
Death  of  Mr.  Fletcher  .  .  .327 
Wesley's  extraordinary  health  in  old 

age  331 

He  begins  to  feel  decay  in  his  84th 

year  332 

Death  of  Charles  Wesley  .  .  .333 
Wesley  closes  his  cash-accounts  .  334 
His  last  letters  to  America       .      .  334 

His  death  3.35 

Lies  in  state  in  the  Chapel  .  .  335 
State  of  the  Connection  at  his  death  336 
Conclusion  336 

Remarks  on  the  life  and  chahac- 
TER  OK  John  Wesley.  By  the 
late  Alexander  Knox,  Esq.    .  338 


6 


CONTENTS. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Thomas  Olivers  411 

Anecdotes  of  the  bustard      .      .  412 
Toplady's  illustration  of  the  renewal 
of  the  image  of  God  in  the  heart  of 

^     man  413 

The  New  Birth      .      .      .  .413 

^  He  entangled  himself  in  contradictions  416 
Instantaneous  conversion  .  .  417 
Salvation  not  to  be  sought  by  works  418 

Faith  418 

Assurance  418 

Perfection  419 

Ministry  of  Angels  ....  420 
Agency  of  evil  spirits  .  .  .  421 
Immortality  of  animals      .      .      .  422 

Itinerancy  422 

The  select  bands       ....  424 

Psalmody  425 

Service  of  the  Methodists  .  .  .  427 
Strong  feelings  expressed  with  levity  428 
Methodism  in  Scotland  .  .  '.  428 
Ireland  neglected  at  the  Reformation  429 
Wesley  offers  to  raise  men  for  govern- 
ment during  the  American  war    .  430 


Wesley's  separation  from  his  wife 
[Wesley's  opposition  to  lay  adminis 

tering]  

The  Burnham  Society  . 
Device  upon  Whitefield's  seal  . 
Whitefield's  body  .... 
Conference  with  Mr.  Shirley  . 

Berridge  

The  Serpent  and  the  Fox  . 
Calvinism  .... 
Mr.  Fletcher's  Illustrations  of  Calvin 


Paga 
430 

430 
433 
434 
434 
435 
436 
436 
438 

438 


Arminianism  described  by  the  Cal- 

vinists  442 

Young  Grimshaw  ....  443 
The  yearly  covenant  .  .  .  443 
The  value  of  a  good  conscience  .  444 
Wesley's  doctrine  concerning  riches  445 
[Wesley  perceived  and  acknowledged 
"   how  little  real  reformation  had  been 

effected]  446 

Mr.  Wesley's  epitaphs    .      .      .  449 
J.  Collet's  forgeries    ....  450 
Additional  Notes  concerning  Mr. 
Wesley's  family  ....  451 


THE 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

JOHN  OLIVER.  JOHN  PAWSON.  ALEXANDER  MATHER.  

THOMAS  OLIVERS. 

John  Oliver,  the  son  of  a  tradesman  at  Stockport,  in 
Cheshire,  received  the  rudiments  of  a  liberal  education  at 
the  gi'ammar-school  in  that  town  ;  but  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen, in  consequence  of  reduced  circumstances,  was  taken 
into  his  father's  shop.  When  he  was  about  fifteen,  the 
Methodists  came  to  Stockport :  he  partook  the  general 
prejudice  against  them,  and  calling  upon  one  with  whom 
he  chanced  to  be  acquainted,  took  upon  himself  to  con- 
vince him  that  he  was  of  a  bad  religion,  which  was  hostile 
to  the  Church.  The  Methodist,  in  reply,  easily  convinced 
him  that  he  had  no  religion  at  all.  His  pride  was  mortified 
at  this  defeat,  and  he  went  near  his  acquaintance  no  more  ; 
but  the  boy  was  touched  at  heart  also :  he  left  off  his  idle 
and  criminal  diversions  (of  which  cock-fighting  was  one), 
read,  prayed,  fasted,  regularly  attended  church,  and  re- 
peated the  prayers  and  collects  every  day.  This  con- 
tinued some  months,  without  any  apparent  evil ;  but 
having,  at  his  father's  instance,  spent  a  Sabbath  evening 
at  an  inn,  with  some  young  comrades  from  Manchester, 
and  forgotten  all  his  good  resolutions  while  he  was  in 
their  company,  he  came  home  at  night  in  an  agony  of 
mind.  He  did  not  dare  to  pray :  his  conscience  stared 
him  in  the  face ;  and  he  became  melancholy.  The  cause 
of  this  distemper  was  more  obvious  than  the  cure ;  and 
when  he  was  invited  one  evening  to  attend  a  meeting,  the 


8 


JOHN  OLIVER. 


fatber  declared  he  would  knock  his  brains  out  if  he  went^ 
though  he  should  be  hanged  for  it.  John  Oliver  knew 
how  little  was  meant  by  this  threat,  and  stole  away  to  the 
sermon.  He  "  drank  it  in  with  all  his  heart;"  and  having 
afterward  been  informed,  by  a  female  disciple,  of  the 
manner  of  her  conversion,  he  was  "  all  in  a  flame  to  know 
these  things  for  himself"  So  he  hastened  home,  fell  to 
prayer,  fancied  twice  that  he  heard  a  voice  distinctly  say- 
ing his  sins  were  forgiven  him,  and  felt,  in  that  instant,  that 
all  his  load  was  gone,  and  that  an  inexpressible  change  had 
been  wrought.  "  I  loved  God,"  he  says :  "  I  loved  all  man- 
kind. I  could  not  tell  whether  I  was  in  the  body  or  out 
of  it.  Prayer  was  turned  into  wonder,  love,  and  praise." 
In  this  state  of  exaltation  he  joined  the  society. 

Mr.  Oliver  was  a  man  of  violent  temper :  he  loved  his 
son  dearly ;  and  thinking  that  a  boy  of  sixteen  was  not 
emancipated  from  the  obligation  of  filial  obedience,  his 
anger  at  the  course  which  John  persisted  in  pursuing,  was 
strong  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  his  affection.  He 
sent  to  all  the  Methodists  in  the  town,  threatening  what 
he  would  do  if  any  of  them  dared  receive  him  into  their 
houses.  He  tried  severity,  by  the  advice  of  stupid  men ; 
and  broke  not  only  sticks  but  chairs  upon  him,  in  his 
passion.  Perceiving  that  these  brutal  means  were  in- 
effectual, and  perhaps  inwardly  ashamed  of  them,  he  re- 
proached his  undutiful  child  with  breaking  his  father's 
heart,  and  bringing  down  his  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to 
the  grave.  The  distress  of  the  father,  and  the  stubborn 
resolution  of  the  son,  were  now  matter  of  public  talk  in 
Stockport.  Several  clergymen  endeavored  to  convince 
the  lad  of  his  misconduct.  One  of  them,  who  had  been 
his  schoolmaster,  called  him  his  child,  prayed  for  him, 
wept  over  him,  and  conjured  him,  as  he  loved  his  own 
soul,  not  to  go  near  those  people  any  more.  Tlie  father, 
in  presence  of  this  clergyman,  told  his  son,  that  he  might 
attend  the  church  prayers  every  day,  and  should  have 
every  indulgence  which  he  could  ask,  provided  he  would 
come  no  more  near  those  "  damned  villains,"  as  he  called 
the  objects  of  his  violent,  but  not  unreasonable  prejudice. 
John's  reply  was,  that  he  would  do  every  thing  in  his 
power  to  satisfy  him  as  a  child  to  a  parent,  but  that  this 
was  a  matter  of  conscience  which  he  could  not  give  up. 

Mr.  Oliver  had  good  cause  for  apprehending  the  worst 
consequences  from  that  spirit  of  fanaticism  with  which  the 


JOHN  OLIVER. 


9 


boy  was  so  thoroughly  possessed.  The  disease  was  ad- 
vancing rapidly  toward  a  crisis.  At  this  time,  his  heart 
was  "kept  in  peace  and  love  all  the  day  long;"  and 
when  his  band-fellows  spoke  of  the  wickedness  which 
they  felt  in  themselves,  he  wondered  at  them,  and  could 
discover  none  in  himself.  It  was  not  long  before  he  made 
the  discovery.  "  Having,"  he  says,  "  given  way  to  temp- 
tation, and  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,"  all  his  com- 
forts were  withdrawn  in  a  moment :  **  my  soul  was  all 
over  darkness :  I  could  no  longer  see  him  that  is  in- 
visible :  I  could  not  feel  his  influence  on  my  heart :  I 
sought  him,  but  could  not  find  him.  I  endeavored  to 
pray,  but  the  heavens  seemed  like  brass :  at  the  same 
time  such  a  weight  came  upon  me,  as  if  I  was  instantly 
to  be  pressed  to  death.  I  sunk  into  black  despair :  I 
found  no  gleam  of  light,  no  trace  of  hope,  no  token  of  any 
kind  for  good.  The  devil  improved  this  hour  of  dark- 
ness, telling  me  I  was  sure  to  be  damned,  for  I  was  for- 
saken of  God.  Sleep  departed  from  me,  and  I  scarce  ate 
any  thing,  till  I  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton."  One 
morning,  being  no  longer  able  to  endure  this  misery,  and 
resolving  to  put  an  end  to  his  wretched  life,  he  rose  very 
early,  and  threw  himself  into  the  river,  in  deep  water. 
How  he  was  taken  out,  and  conveyed  to  the  house  of  a 
Methodist,  he  says,  is  what  he  never  could  tell ;  unless 
God  sent  one  of  his  ministering  spirits  to  help  in  the  time 
of  need."  A  humbler  Christian  would  have  been  satisfied 
with  gratefully  acknowledging  the  providence  of  God  : 
he,  however,  flattered  himself  with  the  supposition  of  a 
miracle ;  and  Wesley,  many  years  afterward,  published 
the  account  without  reprehension  or  comment.  That 
evening,  there  was  preaching  and  praying  in  the  house  ; 
but,  in  the  morning,  "  Satan  came  upon  him  like  thunder," 
telling  him  he  was  a  self-murderer ;  and  he  attempted  to 
strangle  himself  with  a  handkerchief.  It  was  now  thought 
proper  to  send  for  Mr.  Oliver,  who  had  been  almost  dis- 
tracted all  this  while,  fearing  what  might  so  probably  have 
happened  to  the  poor  bewildered  boy.  He  took  him  home, 
promising  to  use  no  severity ;  for  John  was  afraid  to  go. 
A  physician  was  called  in,  whom  Oliver  calls  an  utter 
stranger  to  all  religion.  He  bled  him  largely,  physicked 
him  well,  and  blistered  him  on  the  head,  back,  and  feet. 
It  was  very  possible  that  the  bodily  disease  required  some 
active  treatment :  the  leaven  of  the  mind  was  not  thus  to 

A* 


10 


JOHN  OLIVER. 


be  worked  off.  The  first  time  that  he  was  permitted  to 
go  out,  one  of  his  Methodist  friends  advised  him  to  elope, 
seeing  that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  serve  God  at 
home.  He  went  to  Manchester:  his  mother  followed  him, 
and  found  means  to  bring  him  back  by  force  :  the  father 
then  gave  up  the  contest  in  despair,  and  John  pursued  his 
own  course  without  further  opposition.  Now  it  was,  he 
says,  that  his  strength  came  again :  his  light,  his  life,  his 
God.  He  began  to  exhort :  soon  afterward  he  fancied 
himself  called  to  some  more  public  work ;  and,  having 
passed  through  the  previous  stages,  was  accepted  by 
Wesley  upon  trial  as  a  traveling  preacher.  At  the  year's 
end  he  would  have  gone  home,  from  humility,  not  from 
any  weariness  of  his  vocation.  Wesley's  reply  was,  You 
have  set  your  hand  to  the  gospel-plough,  therefore  never 
look  back!  I  would  have  you  come  up  to  London  this 
winter.  Here  is  every  thing  to  make  the  man  of  God 
perfect."  He  accepted  the  invitation ;  and  had  been 
thirty  years  an  active  and  successful  preacher,  when  his 
life  and  portrait  were  exhibited  in  the  Arminian  Maga- 
zine.* 

Oliver  describes  himself  as  having  always  been  of  a 
fearful  temper — a  temper  which  is  often  connected  with 
rashness.  During  part  of  his  life,  he  was  afflicted  with 
what  he  calls  a  scrofulous  disorder.  A  practitioner  in 
Essex,  to  whom  he  applied  for  relief,  and  who  began  his 

*  [There  is,  perhaps,  no  other  case,  even  in  this  strange  book,  that  so 
folly  demonstrates  the  author's  complete  incapacity  for  the  work  he 
had  undertaken,  as  this  account  of  John  Oliver.  A  youth  of  fifteen, 
•wha^  by  following  the  examples  about  him,  was  growing  up  in  vice 
and  irreligion,  is,  through  the  influence  of  some  Methodists,  brought 
to  see  his  lost  condition,  and  to  seek  for  pardon  and  salvation  in  the 
blood  of  Christ;  the  reformation  of  the  lad  arouses  the  fiendish  wrath 
of  his  father,  who  attempts,  by  brutal  violence,  to  beat  him  back  to  his 
former  vicious  manner  of  life;  but,  by  an  almost  miracle  of  grace,  he 
holds  out  till  the  storm  wastes  itself  by  its  own  N-iolence,  lives  an  up- 
right and  exemplary  Christian,  and  a  highly  useful  minister  of  Christ, 
and,  at  last,  having  turned  many  to  righteousness,  dies  in  the  triumphs 
of  faith.  The  case  (which  differs  only  in  its  accidents  from  thousands 
of  others)  is  well  calculated  to  awaken  sympathy  and  commiseration 
in  every  heart  not  calloused  by  a  false  philosophy ;  and  Mr.  Southey, 
in  gi"ving  the  above  caricatm'e,  and  heartlessly  deriding  the  strugglings 
of  a  wounded  spirit,  betrays  the  hollowness  of  his  own  heart.  That 
Robert  Southey's  was  a  soul  susceptible  of  very  lively  and  delicate 
impressions  of  the  beautiful  and  the  grand  is  granted;  but  a  highly 
cultivated  taste,  and  great  exuberance  of  sentiment  are  quite  com- 
patible with  moral  obtuseness  and  corruption  of  the  heart. — Am.  Ed.'] 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


11 


practice  by  prayer,  told  him  his  whole  mass  of  blood  was 
corrupted,  and  advised  him  to  a  milk  diet:  he  took  daily 
a  quart  of  milk,  with  white  bread,  and  two  table-spoonfuls 
of  honey.  In  six  months  his  whole  habit  of  body  was 
changed,  and  no  symptom  of  the  disorder  ever  appeared 
afterward. 

John  Pawson  was  the  son  of  a  respectable  farmer,  who 
cultivated  his  own  estate,  at  Thorner,  in  Yorkshire.  His 
parents  were  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  gave  him  a 
good  education  according  to  their  means ;  and  though, 
he  says,  they  were  strangers  to  the  life  and  power  of 
religion,  brought  him  up  in  the  fear  of  God.  The  father 
followed  also  the  trade  of  a  builder,  and  this  son  was  bred 
to  the  same  business.  The  youth  knowing  the  Methodists 
only  by  common  report,  supposed  them  to  be  a  foolish 
and  wicked  people ;  till  happening  to  hear  a  person  give 
an  account  of  his  wife,  who  was  a  Methodist,  he  con- 
ceived a  better  opinion  of  them,  and  felt  a  wish  to  hear 
them.  Accordingly  he  went  one  evening  to  their  place 
of  meeting;  but,  when  he  came  to  the  door,  he  was 
ashamed  to  go  in,  and  so  walked  round  the  house,  and 
returned  home.  This  was  in  his  eighteenth  year.  He 
was  now  employed  at  Hare  wood,  and  fell  into  profligate 
company,  who,  though  they  did  not  succeed  in  corrupting 
him,  made  him  dislike  Methodism  more  than  ever. 

Two  sermons,  which  had  been  preached  at  the  parish 
church  in  Leeds  by  a  methodistical  clergyman,  were  lent 
to  his  father  when  Pawson  was  about  twenty.  These  fell 
into  his  hands,  and  convinced  him  that  justification  by 
faith  was  necessary  to  salvation.  He  went  now  to  Otley, 
to  hear  a  Methodist  preach  ;  and  from  that  hour  his  course 
of  life  was  determined.  The  serious,  devout  behavior  of 
the  people,  he  says,  struck  him  with  a  kind  of  religious 
awe  :  the  singing  greatly  delighted  him ;  and  the  sermon 
was,  to  use  his  own  phraseology,  "much  blest  to  his  soul." 
He  was  permitted  to  stay,  and  be  present  at  the  society 
meeting,  and  **  had  cause  to  bless  God  for  it." 

There  was  nothing  wavering  in  this  man's  character : 
he  had  been  morally  and  religiously  brought  up ;  his  dis- 
position, from  the  beginning,  was  good,  and  his  devotional 
feelings  strong.  But  his  relations  were  exceedingly  of- 
fended when  he  declared  himself  a  Methodist.  An  uncle, 
who  had  promised  to  be  his  friend,  resolved  that  he  would 
leave  him  nothing  in  his  will,  and  kept  the  resolution. 


12 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


His  parents,  and  his  brother  and  sisters,  supposed  him  to 
be  totally  ruined.  Sometimes  his  father  threatened  to 
turn  him  out  of  doors,  and  utterly  disown  him  :  but  John 
was  his  eldest  son  :  he  dearly  loved  him  ;  and  this  fault, 
bitterly  as  he  regretted  and  resented  it,  was  not  of  a  nature 
to  destroy  his  natural  affection.  He  tried  persuasion,  as 
well  as  threats ;  beseeching  him  not  to  run  willfully  after 
his  own  ruin;  and  his  mother  frequently  wept  much  on 
his  account.  The  threat  of  disinheriting  him  gave  him  no 
trouble ;  but  the  danger  which  he  believed  their  souls 
were  in  distressed  him  sorely.  "  I  did  not  regard  what 
I  suffered,"  says  he,  "so  my  parents  might  be  brought  out 
of  their  Egyptian  darkness."  •  He  bought  books,  and  laid 
them  in  his  father's  way,  and  it  was  a  hopeful  symptom  that 
the  father  read  them,  although  it  seemed  to  no  good  pur- 
pose. The  seed,  however,  had  struck  root  in  the  family  : 
his  brother  and  some  of  his  sisters  were  "  awakened." 
The  father  became  more  severe  with  John,  as  the  prime 
cause  of  all  this  mischief :  then  again  he  tried  mild  means, 
and  told  him  to  buy  what  books  he  pleased,  but  besought 
him  not  to  go  to  the  preachings  :  he  might  learn  more  by 
reading  Mr.  Wesley's  writings  than  by  heaiing  the  lay 
preachers ;  and  the  Methodists,  he  said,  were  so  univer- 
sally hated,  that  it  would  ruin  his  character  to  go  among 
them.  It  was  "  hard  work"  to  withstand  the  entreaties 
of  a  good  father ;  and  it  was  not  less  hard  to  refrain  from 
what  he  verily  believed  essential  to  his  salvation.  There 
was  preaching  one  Sunday  near  the  house,  and,  in  obedi- 
ence, he  kept  away ;  but  when  it  was  over,  and  he  saw 
the  people  returning  home,  full  of  the  consolation  which 
they  had  received,  his  grief  became  too  strong  for  him  ; 
he  went  into  the  garden,  and  wept  bitterly  ;  and,  as  his 
emotions  became  more  powerful,  retired  into  a  solitary 
place,  and  there,  he  says,  bemoaned  himself  before  the 
Lord,  in  such  anguish,  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to  look 
up.  In  this  situation  his  father  found  him,  and  took  him 
into  the  fields  to  see  the  grass  and  corn ;  but  the  cheeiful 
images  of  nature  produced  no  effect  upon  a  mind  thus 
agitated  ;  and  the  father  was  grievously  troubled,  believ- 
ing verily  that  his  son  would  run  distracted.  They  re- 
turned home  in  time  to  attend  the  Church  service;  and, 
in  the  evening,  as  was  their  custom,  John  read  aloud  from 
some  religious  book,  choosing  one  to  his  purpose.  Seeing 
that  his  father  approved  of  what  he  read,  he  ventured  to 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


13 


speak  to  him  in  defense  of  his  principles.  The  father 
grew  angry,  and  spoke  with  bitterness.  *'  I  find,"  said 
the  old  man,  "  thou  art  now  entirely  ruined.  I  have  used 
every  means  I  can  think  of,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I  re- 
joiced at  thy  birth,  and  I  once  thought  thou  wast  as  hope- 
ful a  young  man  as  any  in  this  town ;  but  now  I  shall  have 
no  more  comfort  in  thee  so  long  as  I  live.  Thy  mother 
and  1  are  grown  old,  and  thou  makest  our  lives  quite 
miserable :  thou  wilt  bring  down  our  gray  hairs  with 
soiTow  to  the  grave.  Thou  inteudest  to  make  my  house 
a  preaching-house,  when  once  my  head  is  laid ;  but  it 
shall  never  be  thine  :  no,  I  will  leave  all  I  have  to  the 
poor  of  the  parish,  before  the  Methodists  shall  have  any 
thing  to  do  with  it."  Pawson  was  exceedingly  affected  ; 
and  the  father  seeing  this,  desired  him  to  promise  that  he 
would  hear  their  preaching  no  more.  He  replied,  when 
he  could  speak  for  weeping,  that  if  he  could  see  a  sufficient 
reason  he  would  make  that  promise ;  but  not  till  then. 
"  Well,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  I  see  thou  art  quite  stupid 
— I  may  as  well  say  nothing:  the  Methodists  are  the  most 
bewitching  people  that  ever  lived  ;  for,  when  once  a  per- 
son hears  them,  it  is  impossible  to  persuade  him  to  return 
back  again." 

Pawson  retired  from  this  conversation  in  great  trouble, 
and  was  tempted  to  think  that  he  was  guilty  of  disobeying 
his  parents  ;  but  he  satisfied  himself  that  he  must  obey  God 
rather  than  man.  It  was  a  gieat  comfort  to  him  that  his 
brothers  sympathized  with  him  entirely  :  they  both  strove 
to  oblige  their  parents  as  much  as  possible,  and  took  es- 
pecial care  that  no  business  should  be  neglected  for  the 
preaching.  This  conduct  had  its  effect.  They  used  to 
pray  together  in  their  chamber.  The  mother,  after  often 
listening  on  the  stairs,  desired  at  last  to  join  them ;  and  the 
father  became,  in  like  manner,  a  listener  at  first,  and  after- 
ward a  partaker  in  these  devotions.  The  minister  of  the 
parish  now  began  to  apprehend  that  he  should  lose  the 
whole  family :  the  way  by  which  he  attempted  to  retain 
them  was  neither  wise  nor  charitable ;  it  was  by  reviling 
and  calumniating  the  Methodists,  and  in  this  manner  in- 
flaming the  father's  wrath  against  the  son.  This  was 
Pawson's  last  trial :  perceiving  the  effect  which  was  thus 
produced,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  father,  in  which,  after 
stating  his  feelings  concerning  his  own  soul,  he  came  to 
plain  arguments,  which  could  not  but  have  their  due 


14 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


weight.  "  What  worse  am  I,  in  any  respect,  since  I  heard 
the  Methodists  1  Am  I  disobedient  to  you  or  my  mother 
in  any  other  thing  ]  Do  I  neglect  any  part  of  business  ]" 
He  asked  him  also  why  he  condemned  the  preachers, 
whom  he  had  never  heard.  **  If  you  will  hear  them  only 
three  times,"  said  he,  and  then  prove  from  the  Scripture 
that  they  preach  contrary  thereunto,  I  will  hear  them  no 
more."  The  old  man  accepted  this  proposal.  T-he  first 
sermon  he  liked  tolerably  well,  the  second  not  at  all,  and 
the  third  so  much,  that  he  went  to  hear  a  fourth,  which 
pleased  him  better  than  all  the  rest.  His  own  mind  was 
now  wholly  unsettled :  he  retired  one  morning  into  the 
stable,  where  nobody  might  hear  or  see  him,  that  he  might 
pray  without  interruption  to  the  Lord  ;  and  here  such  a 
paroxysm  came  on,  "  that  he  roared  for  the  very  disquiet- 
ness  of  his  soul." — "  This,"  says  Pawson,  **  was  a  day  of 
glad  tidings  to  me.  I  now  had  liberty  to  cast  in  my  lot 
with  the  people  of  God.  My  father  invited  the  preachers 
to  his  house,  and  prevented  m]/  turning  it  into  a  preaching- 
house  (as  he  had  formerly  said),  by  doing  it  himself.  From 
this  time  we  had  preachings  in  our  own  house,  and  all  the 
family  joined  the  Society." 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  the  proselyte  had  now 
obtained  his  soul's  desire  ;  but  he  had  not  attained  to  the 
new  birth  :  his  prayer  was,  that  the  Lord  would  take  away 
his  heart  of  stone,  and  give  him  a  heart  of  flesh  ;  and,  ere 
long,  as  he  was  "  hearing  the  word,"  in  a  neighboring  vil- 
lage, the  crisis  which  he  solicited  came  on.  "  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  service,"  says  he,  "  the  power  of  God  came 
mightily  upon  me  and  many  others.  All  on  a  sudden  my 
heart  was  like  melting  wax  :  I  cried  aloud  with  an  exceed- 
ing bitter  cry.  The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  stuck  fast  in 
my  flesh,  and  the  poison  of  them  drank  up  my  spirits;  yet 
in  the  height  of  my  distress  I  could  bless  the  Lord,  that 
he  had  granted  me  that  which  I  had  so  long  sought  for." 
It  was  well  that  his  father  had  been  converted  before  he 
reached  this  stage,  or  he  might  with  some  reason  have  be- 
lieved that  Methodism  had  made  his  son  insane.  He  could 
take  no  delight  in  any  thing  ;  his  business  became  a  burden 
to  him  ;  he  was  quite  confused  ;  so  that  any  one,  he  says, 
who  looked  on  him,  might  see  in  his  countenance  the  dis- 
tress of  his  mind,  for  he  was  on  the  very  brink  of  despair. 
One  day  he  was  utterly  confounded  by  hearing  that  one  of 
his  acquaintance  had  received  an  assurance  of  salvation, 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


15 


when  he  had  only  heard  three  sermons ;  whereas  he,  who 
had  long  waited,  was  still  without  comfort.  Public  thanks 
were  given  for  this  new  birth ;  and  Pawson  went  home 
from  the  meeting  to  give  vent  to  his  own  grief.  As  he 
could  not  do  this  in  his  chamber  without  disturbing  the 
family,  he  retired  into  the  barn,  where  he  might  perform 
freely,  and  there  began  to  pray,  and  weep,  and  roar  aloud, 
for  his  distress  was  greater  than  he  could  well  bear.  Pres- 
ently he  found  that  his  brother  was  in  another  part  of  the 
barn,  in  as  much  distress  as  himself.  Their  cries  brought 
in  the  father  and  mother,  the  eldest  sister,  and  her  husband, 
and  all  being  in  the  same  condition,  they  all  lamented  to- 
gether. **  I  suppose,"  says  Pawson,  "  if  some  of  the  good 
Christians  of  the  age  had  seen  or  heard  us,  they  would  have 
concluded  we  were  all  quite  beside  ourselves."  However, 
**  though  the  children  were  brought  to  the  birth,  there  was 
not  strength  to  bring  forth."  One  Saturday  evening,  when 
"  there  was  a  mighty  shaking  among  the  dry  bones,"  at  the 
meeting,  his  father  received  the  assurance,  and  the  preacher 
gave  thanks  on  his  account ;  but  Pawson  was  so  far  from 
being  able  to  rejoice  with  him,  that  he  says,  "  his  soul  sunk 
as  into  the  belly  of  hell."  On  the  day  following,  the  preach- 
er met  the  Society,  "  in  order  to  wrestle  with  God  in  behalf 
of  those  who  were  in  distress.  Pawson  went  full  of  sorrow, 
*'  panting  after  the  Lord,  as  the  hart  after  the  water-brooks." 
When  the  prayer  for  those  in  distress  was  made,  he  placed 
himself  upon  his  knees  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  if  possi- 
ble, in  greater  anguish  of  spirit  than  ever  before.  Present- 
ly a  person,  whom  he  knew,  **  cried  for  mercy,  as  if  he 
would  rend  the  very  heaven."*    **  Quickly  after,  in  the 

*  What  shall  I  say  to  these  and  other  instances  ?  Disbelieve  the  nar- 
rators ?  I  can  not — I  dare  not.  I  seem  to  be  assured  that  I  should 
quench  the  ray,  and  paralyze  the  factual  nerve,  by  which  I  have  hither- 
to been  able  to  discriminate  veracity  from  falsehood,  and  deceit  from 
delusion.  Is  it  then  aught  real,  though  subjectively  real  as  the  law  of 
conscience  ?  When  I  find  an  instance  recorded  by  a  philosopher  of  him- 
self, he  still  continuing  to  be  a  philosopher — recorded  by  a  man,  who 
can  give  the  distinctive  marks  by  which  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  the 
experience  was  not  explicable  physiologically,  nor  psychologically, — I 
shall  think  it  time  to  ask  myself  the  question :  till  then,  I  find  no  more 
rational  solution  than  that  afforded  by  disorder  of  the  nervous  functions 
from  mental  causes,  no  physical  or  external  disturbing  forces  being 
present,  and  no  disease.  In  such  cases  we  may,  I  should  think,  antici- 
pate certain  sudden  refluxes  of  healthful  secretions,  and  internal  actions 
of  the  organs  :  this,  and  that  of  a  mind  perhaps  baffled  and  drawn  back, 
till  at  length,  either  strengthened  by  accumulated  sensation,  or  availing 


16 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


twinkling  of  an  eye,"  says  Pawson,  **  all  my  trouble  was 
gone,  ray  guilt  and  condemnation  were  removed,  and  I 
was  filled  with  joy  unspeakable.  I  was  brought  out  of 
darkness  into  marvelous  light ;  out  of  miserable  bondage, 
into  glorious  liberty ;  out  of  the  most  bitter  distress,  into 
unspeakable  happiness.  I  had  not  the  least  doubt  of  my 
acceptance  with  God,  but  was  fully  assured  that  he  was 
reconciled  to  me  through  the  merits  of  his  Son.  I  was  fully 
satisfied  that  I  was  born  of  God  :  my  justification  was  so 
clear  to  me,  that  I  could  neither  doubt  nor  fear." 

The  lot  of  the  young  man  was  now  cast.  He  was  shortly 
afterward  desired  to  meet  a  class  :  it  was  a  sore  trial  to 
him;  but  obedience  was  a  duty,  and  he  was  "obliged  to 
take  up  the  cross."  "  From  the  first  or  second  time  I  met 
it,"  he  continues,  "  I  continually  walked  in  the  light  of 
God's  countenance  :  I  served  him  with  an  undivided  heart. 
I  had  no  distressing  temptations,  but  had  constant  power 
over  all  sin,  so  that  I  lived  as  upon  the  borders  of  heaven." 
Henceforward  his  progress  was  regular.  From  reading 
the  homilies,  and  explaining  them  as  he  went  on,  he  began 
to  expound  the  Bible,  in  his  poor  manner.  The  people 
thrust  him  into  the  pulpit.  First  he  became  a  local  preach- 
er, then  an  itinerant,  and,  finally,  a  leading  personage  of  the 
conference,  in  which  he  continued  a  steady  and  useful  mem- 
ber till  his  death. 

Alexander  Mather  was  a  man  of  cooler  temperament 
and  better  disciplined  mind  than  most  of  Wesley's  coadju- 
tors. He  was  the  son  of  a  baker,  at  Brechin,  in  Scotland  ; 
his  parents  were  reputable  and  religious  people ;  they 

itself  of  a  quieter  moment  or  conspiring  circumstances,  it  makes  head 
again,  and  Bows  in  on  the  empty  channel  in  a  bore.  And  this  of  course 
■would  take  its  shape,  and  as  it  were  articulate  itself,  or  interpret  itself, 
by  the  predominant  thoughts,  images,  and  aims  of  the  individual ;  even 
as  life  returns  upon  the  drowned,  and  as  moderate  warmth  has  been 
known  to  intoxicate  and  produce  all  the  thrilling,  overwhelming  syn- 
thesis of  impatient  appetite  and  intolerable  fruition,  that  some  constitu- 
tions have  undergone  from  inhaling  the  nitrous  oxyde.  Add  to  this  the 
important  fact,  that  Christianity  in  its  genuine  doctrines  contains  so  much 
of  spiritual  verities,  that  can  only  be  spiritually  discerned,  but  which  will 
to  such  individuals  seem  akin  to  their  recent  exaltations,  and  therefore 
actually  supply  a  link ;  so  that  by  these  spiritual  verities  they  become, 
without  any  sensible  discontinuity,  connected  with  the  whole  series  of 
the  duties,  humanities,  charities  of  religion :  at  verbum  sat.  In  short, 
the  man  awakens  so  gradually,  and  opens  his  eyes  by  little  and  little  to 
objects  so  similar  to  his  dream,  that  the  dream  detaches  itself  as  it  were 
from  sleep,  and  becomes  the  commencing  portion  of  tlic  new  day- 
thoughts.— S.  T.  C. 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


17 


kept  him  carefully  from  evil  company,  and  brought  him  up 
in  the  fear  of  God :  but  the  father  was  a  rigid  and  severe 
man,  and  probably  for  this  reason,  while  he  was  yet  a  mere 
boy  (according  to  his  own  account  not  thirteen),  he  joined 
the  rebels  in  1745.  Having  escaped  from  Culloden  and 
the  pursuit,  he  found  that  his  father's  doors  were  closed 
against  him  on  his  return.  By  his  mother's  help,  however, 
he  was  secreted  among  their  relations  for  several  months, 
till  he  thought  the  danger  was  over,  and  ventured  a  second 
time  to  present  himself  at  home.  The  father,  more  per- 
haps from  cunning  than  actual  want  of  feeling,  not  only 
again  refused  him  admittance,  but  went  himself  and  gave 
information  against  him  to  the  commanding  officer,  and 
the  boy  would  have  been  sent  to  prison,  if  a  gentleman  of 
the  town  had  not  interfered,  and  obtained  leave  for  him  to 
lodge  in  his  father's  house.  The  next  morning  he  passed 
through  the  form  of  an  examination,  and  was  discharged. 
From  this  time  he  worked  at  his  father's  business,  till,  in 
the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age,  he  thought  it  advisable  to 
see  the  world,  and  therefore  traveled  southward.  The 
next  year  he  reached  London,  and  there  engaged  himself 
as  a  journeyman  baker.  Because  he  was,  as  he  says,  a 
foreigner,  his  first  master  was  summoned  to  Guildhall,  and 
compelled  to  dismiss  him.  This  unjust  law  was  not  after- 
ward enforced  against  him,  and  he  seems  to  have  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  employment.  Before  he  had  been 
many  months  in  London,  a  young  woman,  who  had  been 
bred  up  with  him  in  his  father's  house,  sought  him  out : 
they  had  not  met  for  many  years,  and  this  renewal  of  an 
old  intimacy,  in  a  strange  land,  soon  ended  in  marriage. 

Mather  had  made  a  resolution  that  he  would  live  wholly 
to  God  whenever  he  should  marry.  For  a  while  he  was 
too  happy  to  remember  this  resolution  ;  he  remembered  it 
when  his  wife  was  afflicted  with  illness ;  it  then  lay  heavy 
on  his  mind  that  he  had  not  performed  his  vow  of  praying 
with  her,  and  yet  some  kind  of  false  feeling  prevented  him 
from  opening  his  heart  to  her.  Day  after  day  the  sense 
of  this  secret  sin  increased  upon  him,  till,  after  loss  of  ap- 
petite and  of  sleep,  and  tears  by  day  and  night,  he  "  broke 
through,"  as  he  expresses  it,  and  began  the  practice  of 
praying  with  her,  which,  from  that  time,  was  never  inter- 
rupted. Her  education  had  been  a  religious  one  like  his, 
and  they  did  not  depart  from  the  way  in  which  they  v?ere 
trained  up. 


18 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


Though  Mather  had  no  domestic  obstacles  to  overcome, 
and  never  passed  through  those  struggles  of  mind  which, 
in  many  of  his  colleagues,  bordered  so  closely  upon  mad- 
ness, he  was  by  no  means  in  a  sane  state  of  devotion  at 
this  time.*  It  was  not  sufficient  for  him  to  pray  by  him- 
self every  morning,  and  every  afternoon  with  his  wife ;  he 
sometimes  kneeled  when  he  was  going  to  bed,  and  contin- 
ued in  that  position  till  two  o'clock,  when  he  was  called  to 
his  work.  The  master  whom  he  now  served  was  an  at- 
tendant at  the  Foundry,  but,  like  all  others  of  the  same 
trade,  he  was  in  the  practice  of  what  was  called  *'  baking 
of  pans"  on  a  Sunday.  Mather  regarded  this  as  a  breach 
of  the  Sabbath ;  it  troubled  him  so  that  he  could  find  no 
peace ;  and  his  flesh,  he  says,  consumed  away,  till  the 
bones  were  ready  to  start  through  his  skin.  At  length, 
unable  to  endure  this  state  of  mind,  he  gave  his  master 
warning.  The  master,  finding  by  what  motives  he  was  in- 
fluenced, and  that  he  had  not  provided  himself  with  an- 
other place,  was  struck  by  his  conscientious  conduct :  he 
went  round  to  all  the  trade  in  the  neighborhood,  and  pro- 
posed that  they  should  enter  into  an  agreement  not  to 
bake  on  Sundays.  The  majority  agreed.  He  advertised  for 
a  meeting  of  master  bakers  upon  the  subject ;  but  nothing 
could  be  concluded.  After  all  this,  which  Mather  acknowl- 
edges was  more  than  he  could  reasonably  expect,  he  said 
to  him,  "  I  have  done  all  I  can,  and  now  I  hope  you  will 
be  content."  Mather  sincerely  thanked  him  for  what  he 
had  done,  but  declared  his  intention  of  quitting  him,  as 
Boon  as  his  master  could  suit  himself  with  another  man. 
But  the  master,  it  seems,  took  advice  at  the  Foundry,  and 
on  the  following  Sunday  stayed  at  home,  to  tell  all  his  cus- 
tomers that  he  could  bake  no  more  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
From  this  time  both  he  and  his  wife  were  particulary  kind 
to  Mather.  They  introduced  him  to  the  Foundry,  and  he 
soon  became  a  regular  member  of  the  Society. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  had  strong  impressions  upon 
bis  mind  that  he  was  called  to  preach.  After  fasting  and 
praying  upon  this  point,  he  communicated  it  to  his  band, 
and  they  set  apart  some  days  for  the  same  exercises.  This 
mode  of  proceeding  was  not  likely  to  abate  his  desire; 

♦  [Mr.  Sontliey  shoiild  have  remembered,  when  he  brought  this 
charge  of  insanity,  that  one  whom  he  had  learned  (though  late)  to  call 
*•  Our  Lord,"  on  a  certain  occasion  continued  all  night  in  prayer  to  God. 
—Am.  Ed.'\ 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


10 


and  the  band  then  advised  him  to  speak  to  Mr.  Wesley. 
Wesley  replied,  **  This  is  a  common  temptation  among 
young  men.  Several  have  mentioned  it  to  me ;  but  the 
next  thing  I  hear  of  them  is,  that  they  are  married,  or  are 
upon  the  point  of  it."  "  Sir,"  said  Mather,  "  I  am  married 
already."  Wesley  then  bade  him  not  care  for  the  tempta- 
tion, but  seek  God  by  fasting  and  prayer.  He  made  answer 
that  he  had  done  this ;  and  Wesley  recommended  patience 
and  perseverance  in  this  course ;  adding,  that  he  doubted 
not  but  that  God  would  soon  make  the  way  plain  before  him. 
Mather  could  not  but  understand  this  as  an  encouragement; 
he  was  the  more  encouraged,  when  Wesley  shortly  after- 
ward appointed  him  first  to  be  leader  of  a  band,  and  in  a 
little  time  of  a  class.  In  both  situations  he  acquitted  himself 
to  the  satisfaction  of  others  :  his  confidence  in  himself  was, 
of  course,  increased,  and  he  went  once  more  to  Mr.  Wesley 
to  represent  his  ardent  aspirations.  **  To  be  a  Methodist 
preacher,"  said  Wesley,  "  is  not  the  way  to  ease,  honor, 
pleasure,  or  profit.  It  is  a  life  of  much  labor  and  reproach. 
They  often  fare  hard — often  are  in  want.  They  are  liable 
to  be  stoned,  beaten,  and  abused  in  various  manners.  Con- 
sider this  before  you  engage  in  so  uncomfortable  a  way 
of  life."  The  other  side  of  the  picture  would  have  been 
sufficiently  tempting,  if  Mather  had  been  influenced  by 
worldly  considerations  :  the  danger  was  just  enough  to 
stimulate  enthusiasm :  the  reproach  of  strangers  would 
only  heighten  the  estimation  in  which  he  would  be  held  by 
believers  :  no  way  of  life  could  be  more  uncomfortable 
than  his  own ;  and  what  a  preferment  in  the  world  for  a 
journeyman  baker  !  The  conversation  ended,  by  allowing 
him  to  make  a  trial  on  the  following  morning.  After  a 
second  essay,  he  received  information  nearly  at  ten  at 
night,  that  he  was  to  preach  the  next  morning  at  five 
o'clock,  at  the  Foundry.  This  was  the  critical  trial.  All 
the  time  he  was  making  his  dough  he  was  engaged  in 
meditation  and  prayer  for  assistance.  The  family  were 
,all  in  bed,  and  when  he  had  done,  he  continued  praying 
and  reading  the  Bible,  to  find  a  text,  till  two  o'clock.  It 
was  then  time  to  call  his  fellow-servant,  and  they  went  to 
work  together  as  usual  till  near  four,  preparing  the  bread 
for  the  oven.  His  comrade  then  retired  to  bed,  and  he 
to  his  prayers,  till  a  quarter  before  five,  when  he  went, 
in  fear  and  trembling,  to  the  meeting,  still  unprepared 
even  with  a  text.    He  took  up  the  hymn-book  and  gave 


20 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


out  the  hymn,  in  a  voice  so  faint,  because  of  his  timidity, 
that  it  could  not  be  understood.  The  people,  not  hearing 
the  verse,  knew  not  what  to  sing :  he  was  no  singer  him- 
self, otherwise  he  might  have  recovered  this  mishap  by 
leading  them ;  so  they  were  at  a  stand,  and  this  increased 
his  agitation  so  much  that  his  joints  shook.  However,  he 
recovered  himself,  and  took  the  text  upon  which  he  opened. 
The  matter  after  this  was  left  to  Mr.  Wesley,  to  employ 
him  as  his  business  would  permit,  just  when  and  where  he 
pleased.  When  first  he  began  to  preach,  there  was  a  con- 
siderable natural  defect  in  his  delivery;  and  he  spoke  with 
such  extreme  quickness  that  very  few  could  understand 
him :  but  he  entirely  overcame  this. 

The  account  of  the  exertions  in  which  this  zealous  laborer 
was  now  engaged  may  best  be  related  in  his  own  words. 
He  says,  "  In  a  little  time  I  was  more  employed  than  my 
strength  would  well  allow.  I  had  no  time  for  preaching 
but  what  I  took  from  my  sleep  ;  so  that  I  frequently  had 
not  eight  hours'  sleep  in  a  week.  This,  with  hard  labor, 
constant  abstemiousness,  and  frequent  fasting,  brought  me 
so  low,  that,  in  a  little  more  than  two  years,  I  was  hardly 
able  to  follow  my  business.  My  master  was  often  afraid  I 
should  kill  myself;  and  perhaps  his  fear  was  not  ground- 
less. I  have  frequently  put  off  my  shirts  as  wet  with  sweat 
as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  water.  After  hastening  to 
finish  my  business  abroad,  I  have  come  home  all  in  a  sweat 
in  the  evening,  changed  my  clothes,  and  run  to  preach  at 
one  or  another  chapel ;  then  walked  or  ran  back,  changed 
my  clothes  and  gone  to  work  at  ten ;  wrought  hard  all  night, 
and  preached  at  five  the  next  morning.  I  ran  back  to  draw 
the  bread  at  a  quarter  or  half  an  hour  past  six,  wrought 
hard  in  the  bake-house  till  eight ;  then  hurried  about  with 
bread  till  the  afternoon,  and  perhaps  at  night  set  off  again." 

Had  this  mode  of  life  continued  long,  Mather  must  have 
fallen  a  victim  to  his  zeal.  He  was  probably  saved  by 
being  appointed  a  traveling  preacher  ;  yet,  at  the  very 
commencement  of  his  itinerancy,  his  course  had  been 
nearly  cut  short.  A  mob  attacked  him  at  Boston  ;  and 
when,  with  great  difficulty  and  danger,  he  reached  his  inn, 
bruised,  bleeding,  and  covered  with  blood,  the  rabble  beset 
the  house,  and  the  landlord  attempted  to  turn  him  out,  for 
fear  they  should  pull  it  down.  Mather,  however,  knew 
the  laws,  and  was  not  wanting  to  himself.  "  Sir,"  he  said, 
"  I  am  in  your  house ;  but,  while  I  use  it  as  an  inn,  it  is 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


21 


mine — turn  me  out  at  your  peril."  And  he  compelled 
him  to  apply  to  a  magistrate  for  protection.  It  was  moi  e 
than  twelve  months  before  he  recovered  from  the  brutal 
treatment  which  he  received  on  this  occasion.  The  mob 
at  Wolverhampton  pulled  down  a  preaching-house :  an 
attorney  had  led  them  on,  and  made  the  first  breach  him- 
self. Mather  gave  him  his  choice  of  rebuilding  it  at  his 
own  expense,  or  being  tried  for  his  life  :  of  course  the 
house  was  rebuilt,  and  there  were  no  further  riots  at  Wol- 
verhampton. He  was  of  a  hardy  constitution  and  strong 
mind,  cool  and  courageous,  zealous  and  disinterested,  most 
tender-hearted  and  charitable,  but  possessing  withal  a  large 
share  of  prudence,  which  enabled  him  to  conduct  the  tem- 
poral affairs  of  the  Connection  with  great  ability.  The 
account  which,  in  his  matured  and  sober  mind,  he  gives  of 
his  experience,  touching  what  Wesley  calls  the  great  salva- 
tion, bears  with  it  fewer  marks  of  enthusiasm,  and  more  of 
meditation,  than  is  usually  found  in  such  cases.  "  What  I 
experienced  in  my  own  soul,"  he  says,  *'was  an  instantane- 
ous deliverance  from  all  those  wrong  tempers  and  affections 
which  I  had  long  and  sensibly  groaned  under;  an  entire 
disengagement  from  every  creature,  with  an  entire  devoted- 
ness  to  God ;  and  from  that  moment  I  found  an  unspeak- 
able pleasure  in  doing  the  will  of  God  in  all  things.  I  had 
also  a  power  to  do  it,  and  the  constant  approbation  both  of 
my  own  conscience  and  of  God.  I  had  simplicity  of  heart, 
and  a  single  eye  to  God  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  with 
such  a  fervent  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
souls,  as  swallowed  up  every  other  care  and  consideration. 
Above  all,  I  had  uninterrupted  communion  with  God, 
whether  sleeping  or  waking."  It  is  scarcely  compatible 
with  human  weakness,  that  a  state  like  this  should  be  per- 
manent ;  and  Mather,  in  describing  it,  after  an  interval  of 
more  than  twenty  years,  exclaims,  "  Oh  that  it  were  with 
me  as  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  thus  shone  upon  my 
head  !"  Yet  he  had  not  failed  in  his  course ;  and,  after 
much  reflection  and  the  surer  aid  of  prayer,  had  calmly 
satisfied  his  clear  judgment,  "that  deliverance  from  sin  does 
not  imply  deliverance  from  human  infirmities ;  and  that  it 
is  not  inconsistent  with  temptations  of  various  kinds."* 

*  Assuredly  my  judgment  is  strong  against  the  use  of  the  word,  and 
the  profession  of  the  state,  perfection;  which  word,  in  its  English 
meaning,  does  not  correspond  to  the  Greek  words,  releiog  rekeioTri^, 
of  which  it  is  pretended  to  be  the  translation :  full  growth,  adult,  are  far 


22 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


Thomas  Olivers  was  born  at  Tregonan,  a  village  in  Mont- 
gomeryshire, in  the  year  1725.  Being  left  an  orphan  in 
childhood,  with  some  little  property,  he  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  the  husband  of  his  father's  first  cousin ;  which 
remote  relationship  comes  under  the  comprehensive  term 
of  a  Welsh  uncle.  Mr.  Tudor,  as  this  person  was  called, 
was  an  eminent  farmer,  and  did  his  duty  by  the  boy ;  giv- 
ing him  not  merely  the  common  school  education,  but  be- 
stowing more  than  common  pains  in  imparting  religious 
acquirements.  He  was  taught  to  sing  psalms,  as  well  as 
repeat  his  catechism  and  his  prayers,  and  to  attend  church 
twice  on  the  Sabbath  day.  But  the  parish  happened  to  be 
in  a  state  of  shocking  immorality  :  there  was  one  man,  in 
particular,  who  studied  the  art  of  cursing,  and  would  ex- 
emplify the  richness  of  the  Welsh  language  by  compound- 
ing twenty  or  thirty  words  into  one  long  and  horrid  blas- 
phemy. As  this  was  greatly  admired  among  his  profligate 
companions,  Olivers  imitated  it,  and  in  time  rivaled  what 
he  calls  his  infernal  instructor.    *'  It  is  horrid  to  think," 

nearer  ;  and  as  the  age  of  twenty-one,  or  twenty-five,  neither  precludes 
comparatively  greater  or  less  manhood,  strength,  and  power  in  A  and 
in  B,  nor  yet  an  increase  of  growth,  though  not  in  stature,  yet  in 
breadth  and  muscular  firmness, — but  rather  brings  with  it  a  lessening 
of  some  excellences  (as  agility,  fervor,  and  the  like),  to  make  way  for 
the  growth  of  other  powers  and  qualities, — so  is  it  with  the  Christian 
Tc/Uior^f .  It  would  be  desirable  to  know  what  the  Syro-Chaldaic  word 
WEis,  which  our  Lord  used  in  the  precept,  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,"  I  can  not  doubt  that  it  would  be  found 
to  correspond  to  our  English  sense  of  perfect,  not  including  the  second- 
ary, yet  the  popular  and  ordinary,  sense  of  Ti7.tioq  among  the  Greeks. 
Likewise  the  very  extensive  and  various  application  of  the  verb-substan- 
tive in  the  Semitic  languages,  justifies  us  in  interpreting  the  text  as  the 
proposed  ideal,  the  commended  ultimate,  yet  ever  present  aim ;  and 
the  "  Be  ye,"  as  =  continue  striving  to  be.  There  is  no  point  at  which 
you  can  arrive  in  this  life,  in  which  the  command,  "  Soar  upward  still," 
ceases  in  validity  or  occasion.  How  much  opposition — nay,  how  much 
spiritual  pride  and  vanity — might  Wesley  have  prevented  by  calling  hia 
first  class,  mature  believers,  or  adult  Christians. — S.  T.  C. 

[Had  Mr.  Coleridge  studied  Wesley's  writings,  he  would  have  known 
that  he  did,  employ  the  very  terms  here  recommended,  and  constantly 
explained  the  scriptural  term  "  perfect,"  by  them.  It  would  have  been 
more  prudent,  since  it  was  determined  to  condemn  Wesley,  to  have 
brought  some  charge  against  him  less  readily  refilled  than  this ;  though, 
so  far  as  his  name  is  concerned,  he  may  as  well  be  condemned  on  one 
charge  as  another,  for  his  condemnation  is  settled  in  some  minds  before 
any  charge  is  brought.  This  complaint  against  Wesley  for  not  doing 
what  he  was  very  careful  to  do,  reminds  one  of  the  charge  made  by 
the  wolf  against  the  lamb,  of  disturbing  the  waters  in  the  stream  above 
him.  In  both  cases  the  vindication  is  alike  easy  but  unavailing  — 
Am,  Ed.'] 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


23 


says  he,  "  how  often  I  have  cursed  the  wind  and  the 
weather !  the  souls  of  cows  and  horses !  yea,  the  very 
heart's  blood  of  stones,  trees,  gates,  and  doors !"  The 
other  parts  of  his  conduct  were  in  the  same  spirit;  and  he 
obtained  the  character  of  being  the  worst  boy  who  had 
been  known  in  that  country  for  the  last  thirty  years. 
When  he  was  about  three  or  four-and-twenty  he  left  the 
country,  not  having  half  learned  the  business  to  which  he 
had  been  apprenticed.  The  cause  of  his  departure  was 
the  outcry  raised  against  him  for  his  conduct  toward  a  far- 
mer's daughter  :*  he  was  the  means,  he  says,  of  driving  her 
almost  to  an  untimely  end.  It  was  the  sin  which  lay  heav- 
iest on  his  mind,  both  before  and  after  his  conversion ;  and 
which,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  remembered  with  peculiar 
shame  and  sorrow. 

He  removed  to  Shrewsbury,  and  there,  or  in  its  neigh- 
borhood, continued  a  profligate  course  of  life,  till  poverty, 
as  well  as  conscience,  stared  him  in  the  face.  He  said 
within  himself,  that  he  was  living  a  most  wretched  life,  and 
that  the  end  must  be  damnation,  unless  he  repented  and 
forsook  his  sins.  But  how  should  he  acquire  strength  for 
this  ]  For  he  had  always  gone  to  church,  and  he  had  often 
prayed  and  resolved  against  his  evil  practices,  and  yet  his 
resolutions  were  weak  as  water.  So  he  thought  of  **  trying 
what  the  sacrament  would  do  ;"  and  borrowing,  according- 
ly, the  book  called  A  Week's  Preparation,  he  went  regular- 
ly through  it,  and  read  daily  upon  his  knees  the  meditations 
and  prayers  for  the  day.  On  the  Sunday  he  went  to  the 
Lord's  table,  and  spent  the  following  week  in  going  over 
the  second  part  of  the  book,  as  devoutly  as  he  had  done 
the  first.  During  this  fortnight  he  **  kept  tolerably  clear 
of  sin ;"  but  when  the  course  of  regimen  was  over,  the 
effect  ceased  :  he  returned  the  book  with  many  thanks,  and 
fell  again  into  his  vicious  courses.  Ere  long  he  was  seized 
with  a  violent  fever :  and  when  his  life  was  despaired  of, 
was  restored,  as  he  believed,  by  the  skill  of  a  journeyman 
apothecary,  who,  being  a  Methodist,  attended  him  for  char- 
ity. His  recovery  brought  with  it  a  keen  but  transitory  re- 
pentance. This  was  at  Wrexham.  Here  he  and  one  of 
his  companions  committed  an  act  of  arch-villainy,  and  de- 
camped in  consequence  ;  Olivers  leaving  several  debts  be- 
hind him  (which  was  generally  the  case  wherever  he  went), 
and  the  other  running  away  from  his  apprenticeship.  They 
♦  [See  Appendix,  Note  I. — Am.  Ed.'\ 


24 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


traveled  as  far  as  Bristol ;  and  there  Olivers,  learning  that 
Mr.  Whitefield  was  to  preach,  resolved  to  go  and  hear  what 
he  had  to  say;  because  he  had  often  heard  of  Whitefield, 
and  had  sung  songs  about  him.  He  went,  and  was  too 
late.  Determined  to  be  soon  enough  on  the  following 
evening,  he  went  three  hours  before  the  time.  When  the 
sermon  began,  he  did  little  but  look  about  him ;  but  seeing 
tears  trickle  down  the  cheeks  of  some  who  stood  near,  he 
became  more  attentive.  The  text  was,  **  Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  JireV 

"  When  the  sermon  began,"  says  this  fiery-minded  Welsh' 
man,  "  I  was  certainly  a  dreadful  enemy  to  God,  and  to  all 
that  is  good  ;  and  one  of  the  most  profligate  and  abandoned 
young  men  living."  Before  it  was  ended,  he  became  a 
new  creature  :  a  clear  view  of  redemption  was  set  before 
him,  and  his  own  conscience  gave  him  clear  conviction  of 
its  necessity.  The  heart,  he  says,  was  broken ;  nor  could 
he  express  the  strong  desires  which  he  felt  for  righteous- 
ness. They  led  him  to  effectual  resolutions  :  he  broke  off 
all  his  evil  practices,  forsook  all  his  wicked  companions, 
and  gave  himself  up  with  all  his  heart  to  God.  He  was 
now  almost  incessantly  in  tears.  He  was  constant  in  at- 
tending worship,  wherever  it  was  going  on ;  and  de- 
scribes his  feelings  during  a  Te  Deum  at  the  cathedral, 
as  if  he  had  done  with  earth,  and  was  praising  God 
before  his  throne.  He  bought  the  Week's  Preparation, 
and  read  it  upon  his  knees  day  and  night ;  and  so  constant 
was  he  in  prayer,  and  in  this  position,  that  his  knees  be- 
came stiff",  and  he  was  actually,  for  a  time,  lame  in  conse- 
quence. So  earnest  was  I,"  he  says,  "  that  I  used  by 
the  hour  together,  to  wrestle  with  all  the  might  of  my  body 
and  soul,  till  I  almost  expected  to  die  on  the  spot.  What 
with  bitter  cries  (unheard  by  any  but  God  and  myself), 
together  with  torrents  of  tears,  which  were  almost  continu- 
ally trickling  down  my  cheeks,  my  throat  was  often  dried 
up,  as  David  says,  and  my  eyes  literally  failed,  while  I 
waited  for  God !"  He  used  to  follow  Whitefield  in  the 
streets,  with  such  veneration,  that  he  could  "scarce  refrain 
from  kissing  the  very  prints  of  his  feet." 

Here  he  would  fain  have  become  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety ;  but  when,  with  much  timidity,  he  made  his  wishes 
known  to  one  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  ministers,  the  preacher, 
for  some  unexplained  reason,  thought  proper  to  discourage 
him.    After  a  few  months,  Olivers  removed  to  Bradford, 


THOMAS  OUVERS. 


25 


and  there,  for  a  long  time,  attended  the  preaching  of  the 
Methodists;  and  when  the  public  service  was  over,  and 
he,  with  the  uninitiated,  was  shut  out,  he  would  go  into  the 
field  at  the  back  of  the  preaching-house,  and  listen  while 
they  were  singing,  and  weep  bitterly  at  the  thought  that, 
while  God's  people  were  thus  praising  his  name,  he,  a  poor 
wretched  fugitive,  was  not  permitted  to  be  among  them. 
And,  though  he  compared  himself  to  one  of  the  foolish  vir- 
gins, when  they  came  out  he  would  walk  behind  them  for 
the  sake  of  catching  a  word  of  their  religious  conversation. 
This  conduct,  and  his  regular  attendance,  at  last  attracted 
notice ;  he  was  asked  if  it  was  his  wish  to  join  the  Society, 
and  receive  a  note  of  admission  from  the  preacher.  His 
rebuff  at  Bristol  had  discouraged  him  from  applying  for 
what  might  so  easily  have  been  obtained ;  and  the  longing 
for  the  admission  had  produced  a  state  of  mind  little  diS 
ferent  from  insanity.  Returning  home,  now  that  he  pos- 
sessed it,  and  exhilarated,  or  even  intoxicated  with  joy, 
he  says,  that  as  he  came  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  town,  a  ray  of  light,  resembling  the  shining 
of  a  star,  descended  through  a  small  opening  in  the  heav- 
en, and  instantaneously  shone  upon  him.  In  that  instant 
his  burden  fell  off,  and  he  was  so  elevated,  that  he  felt  as 
if  he  could  literally  fly  away  to  heaven.*  A  shooting  star 
might  easily  produce  this  effect  upon  a  man  so  agitated  : 
for  "  trifles,  light  as  air,"  will  act  as  strongly  upon  enthusi- 
asm as  upon  jealousy;  and  never  was  any  man  in  a  state 
of  higher  enthusiasm  than  Olivers  at  this  time.  He  says, 
that  in  every  thought,  intention,  or  desire,  his  constant  in- 
quiry was,  whether  it  was  to  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  that  if 
he  could  not  answer  in  the  affirmative,  he  dared  not  indulge 
it :  that  he  received  his  daily  food  nearly  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  he  did  the  sacrament ;  that  he  used  mental  prayer 
daily  and  hourly  ;  and  for  a  while  his  rule  was,  in  this  man- 
ner to  employ  five  minutes  out  of  every  quarter  of  an  hour. 
He  made  it  part  of  his  business  to  stir  up  the  members  of 
the  Society  to  greater  diligences,  and,  among  other  things, 
used  to  run  over  great  part  of  the  town  to  call  them  up  to 

*  "  This,"  he  says,  "  was  the  more  surprising  to  me,  as  I  had  always 
been  (what  I  still  am)  so  prejudiced  in  favor  of  rational  religion  as  not 
to  regard  visions,  or  revelations  perhaps,  so  much  as  I  ought  to  do.  But 
this  light  was  so  clear,  and  the  sweetness  and  other  effects  attending  it 
were  so  great,  that  though  it  happened  about  twenty-seven  years  ago, 
the  several  circumstances  thereof  are  as  fresh  in  my  remembrance  as 
if  they  had  happened  but  yesterday." 
VOL.  II,  B 


26 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


the  moining  preaching.  "  Upon  the  whole,"  he  pursues, 
"I  truly  lived  by  faith.  I  saw  God  in  every  thing:  the 
heavens,  the  earth,  and  all  therein,  showed  me  something 
of  him  ;  yea,  even  from  a  drop  of  water,  a  blade  of  grass, 
or  a  grain  of  sand,  I  often  received  instruction." 

He  soon  became  desirous  of  "  telling  the  world  what  God 
had  done  for  him ;"  and  having  communicated  this  desire 
to  his  band-fellows,  they  kept  a  day  of  solemn  fasting  on  the 
occasion,  and  then  advised  him  to  make  a  trial.  Many  ap- 
proved of  his  gifts :  others  were  of  opinion  that  he  ought 
to  be  more  established,  and  was  too  earnest  to  hold  it  long. 
When  he  began  to  preach,  his  custom  was,  to  get  all  his 
worldly  business  done,  clean  himself,  and  put  out  his  Sun- 
day's apparel  on  Saturday  night,  which  sometimes  was  not 
accomplished  before  midnight :  afterward  he  sat  up  read- 
ing, praying,  and  examining  himself,  till  one  or  two  in  the 
morning  :  he  rose  at  four,  or  never  later  than  five,  and  went 
two  miles  into  the  country,  through  all  weather,  to  meet  a 
few  poor  people,  from  six  till  seven.  By  eight  he  returned 
to  Bradford,  to  hear  the  preaching;  then  went  seven  miles 
on  foot  to  preach  at  one  ;  three  or  four  farther  to  hold  forth 
at  five  ;  and,  after  all,  had  some  five  or  six  more  to  walk 
on  his  return.  And  as  the  preaching  was  more  exhausting 
than  the  exercise,  he  was  often  so  wearied,  that  he  could 
scarcely  get  over  a  stile,  or  go  up  into  his  chamber  when 
he  got  home. 

For  some  time,"  says  he,  "  I  had  frequent  doubts  con- 
cerning my  call.  One  time,  as  I  was  going  to  preach  at 
Coleford,  I  was  tempted  to  believe  that  I  was  running  be- 
fore I  was  sent.  As  I  went  on,  the  temptation  grew 
stronger  and  stronger.  At  last  I  resolved  to  turn  back.  I 
had  not  gone  back  above  thirty  or  forty  yards  before  I  be- 
gan to  think,  *  This  may  be  a  temptation  of  the  devil.'  On 
that  I  took  out  my  Testament,  and  on  opening  it,  the  words 
I  cast  my  eyes  on  were.  He  that  jputteth  his  hand  to  the 
plough^  and  looketh  bach,  is  not  Jit  for  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  I  could  not  help  looking  on  this  as  the  voice  of 
God  to  me ;  therefore  I  took  courage  to  turn  about,  and 
pursue  my  journey  to  Coleford." 

When  he  had  been  a  local  preacher  about  twelve  months, 
the  small-pox  broke  out  in  Bradford,  and  spread  like  a 
pestilence :  scarce  a  single  person  escaped  ;  and  six  or 
Beven  died  daily.  Olivers  was  seized  with  it  the  first  week 
in  October :  heating  things  were  given  him  by  an  ignorant 


•PHOMAS  OLIVERS. 


27 


old  woman  ;  and  when  some  charitable  person  sent  an  ex- 
perienced physician  to  visit  him,  the  physician  declared 
that,  in  the  course  of  fifty  years'  practice,  he  had  never 
eeen  so  severe  a  case.  He  was  blind  for  five  weeks.  The 
room  in  which  he  lay  was  so  offensive,  that  those  who  went 
out  of  it  infected  the  streets  as  they  passed.  He  was  not 
able  to  rise,  that  his  bed  might  be  made,  till  New-Year's 
Day ;  yet,  during  the  whole  time,  he  never  uttered  a  groan 
or  a  single  complaint;  "  thus  evincing,"  as  he  says,  **  that 
no  suffering  is  too  great  for  the  grace  of  God  to  enable  us 
to  bear  with  resignation  and  quietness." 

This  long  illness  increased  the  number  of  his  debts, 
which  were  numerous  enougli  before  his  conversion.  As 
soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  gained  sufficient  strength  for  the 
journey,  he  set  ofl'  for  Montgomeryshire,  to  receive  his 
little  property,  which  had  hitherto  remained  in  Mr.  Tudor'a 
hands.  The  thorough  change  which  had  been  effected  in 
so  notorious  a  reprobate  astonished  all  who  knew  him  ; 
when  they  saw  him  riding  far  and  near,  in  search  of  all 
persons  to  whom  he  was  indebted,  and  faithfully  making 
payment  of  what  the  creditors  never  expected  to  recover, 
they  could  not  doubt  the  sincerity  of  his  reformation,  and 
they  ascribed  it  to  the  grace  of  God.  Tudor  explained 
the  matter  in  a  way  more  satisfactory  to  himself,  because 
he  could  comprehend  it  better :  he  said  to  Olivers,  **  Thou 
hast  been  so  wicked  that  thou  hast  seen  the  devil."*  Hav- 
ing paid  his  debts  in  his  own  country,  he  returned  by  way 
of  Bristol  to  Bradford,  discharged,  in  like  manner,  his  ac- 
counts in  both  these  places,  and  being  now  clear  of  the 
world,  and  thereby  delivered  from  a  burden  which  had 
cost  him,  as  he  says,  many  prayers  and  tears,  he  set  up 
business  with  the  small  remains  of  his  money,  and  with  a 
little  credit ;  but,  before  he  was  half  settled,  Wesley  ex- 
horted him  to  free  himself  from  all  such  engagements,  and 
make  the  work  of  the  Gospel  his  sole  pursuit.  The  advice 
of  the  master  was  a  law  to  the  obedient  disciple.  Olivers 
disposed  of  his  effects,  wound  up  his  affairs,  and  prepared 
to  itinerate  in  the  west  of  England.  "But  I  was  not  able," 
he  says,  '*  to  buy  another  horse  ;  and  therefore,  with  my 
boots  on  my  legs,  my  great  coat  on  ray  back,  and  my  sad- 

*  There -is  a  sort  of  wild  philosophy  in  this  popular  notion.  See 
Friend,  vol.  iii.,  p.  71  (p.  56,  3d  edition).  What  we  have  within,  that 
only  can  we  see  without.  Aaifiova^  el6ei  ovdei^  si  ff^  b  daifiovoelSijg. — 
8.T.C. 


28 


THOMAS  OHVERg. 


die-bags,  with  my  books  and  linen,  across  my  shoulder,  I 
set  out  in  October,  1753." 

Wesley,  when  he  was  not  the  dupe  of  his  own  imagina- 
tion, could  read  the  characters  of  men  with  a  discriminating 
eye.  He  was  not  deceived  in  Olivers  :  the  daring  disposi- 
tion, the  fiery  temper,  and  the  stubbornness  of  this  Welsh- 
man, were  now  subdued  and  disciplined  into  an  intrepidity, 
an  ardor,  and  a  perseverance,  which  were  the  best  requisites 
for  his  vocation.  It  was  not  long  before  one  of  his  congre- 
gation at  Tiverton  presented  him  with  the  price  of  a  horse, 
as  well  suited  to  him  as  Bucephalus  to  Alexander;  for  he 
was  as  tough  and  as  indefatigable  as  his  master.  Indeed 
the  beast,  as  if  from  sympathy,  made  the  first  advances,  by 
coming  up  to  him  in  a  field  where  he  was  walking  with  the 
owner,  and  laying  his  nose  upon  his  shoulder.  Pleased 
with  this  familiarity,  Olivers  stroked  the  colt,  which  was 
then  about  two  years  and  a  half  old ;  and  finding  that  the 
farmer  would  sell  him  for  five  pounds,  struck  the  bargain. 
**  I  have  kept  him,"  he  says  in  his  memoirs,  "  to  this  day, 
which  is  about  twenty-five  years,  and  on  him  I  have  travel- 
ed comfortably  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  miles." 
On  one  occasion  both  he  and  his  horse  were  exposed  to  a 
service  of  some  danger  at  Yarmouth.  The  mob  of  that 
town  had  sworn,  that  if  any  Methodist  came  there,  he 
should  never  return  alive.  Olivers,  however,  being  then 
stationed  at  Norwich,  was  resolved  to  try  the  experiment, 
and  accordingly  set  out  with  a  companion,  who  was  in  no 
encouraging  state  of  mind,  but  every  now  and  then  ex- 
claimed upon  the  road,  "  I  shall  be  murdered,  and  go  to 
hell  this  day  ;  for  I  know  not  the  Lord."  With  this  unhap- 
py volunteer  for  martyrdom,  Olivers  entered  Yarmouth  ; 
and  having  first  attended  service  in  the  church,  went  into 
the  market-place  and  gave  out  a  hymn.  The  people  col- 
lected, and  listened  with  tolerable  quietness  while  he  sung 
and  prayed ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  his  text,  they 
began  so  rude  a  comment  upon  the  sermon,  that  one  of  his 
friends  prudently  pulled  him  down  from  his  perilous  stand, 
and  retreated  with  him  into  a  house,  in  one  of  those  re- 
markable streets  which  are  peculiar  to  Yarmouth,  and  are 
called  rows ;  and  which  are  so  narrow,  that  two  long- 
armed  persons  may  almost  shake  hands  across  from  the 
windows.  Though  Olivers  had  rashly  thrust  himself  into 
this  adventure,  he  was  prudent  enough  now  to  withdraw 
from  it,  and  accordingly  he  sent  for  his  horse.    The  mob 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


29 


recognized  the  animal,  foUowetl  him,  and  filled  the  row. 
To  wait  till  they  dispersed  might  have  been  inconvenient ; 
and  perhaps  they  might  have  attacked  the  house  :  so  he 
came  forth,  mounted  resolutely,  and  making  use  of  his 
faithful  roadster  as  a  charger  on  this  emergency,  forced  the 
rabble  before  him  through  the  row ;  but  the  women  on 
either  side  stood  in  the  door-ways,  some  with  bowls  of 
water,  others  with  both  hands  full  of  dirt,  to  salute  him  as 
he  passed.  Having  rode  the  gauntlet  here,  and  got  into 
the  open  street,  a  tremendous  battery  of  stones,  sticks,  ap- 
ples, turnips,  potatoes,  and  other  such  varieties  of  mob 
ammunition,  was  opened  upon  him  and  his  poor  comrade  : 
the  latter  clapped  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  galloped  out  of 
town  :  Olivers  proceeded  more  calmly  ;  and  watching  the 
sticks  and  stones  which  came  near,  so  as  to  ward  them  off, 
and  evade  the  blow,  preserved,  as  he  says,  a  regular  re- 
treat. 

Olivers  was  more  likely  led  into  this  danger  by  a  point 
of  honor,  than  by  any  natural  rashness ;  for,  that  he  had 
acquired  a  considerable  share  of  sound  worldly  prudence, 
appears  from  the  curious  account  which  he  has  given  of 
his  deliberation  concerning  marriage.  Setting  out,  he  says, 
with  a  conviction  that  in  this  important  concern  "  young 
people  did  not  consult  reason  and  the  will  of  God,  so  much 
as  their  own  foolish  inclinations,"  he  inquired  of  himself, 
in  the  first  place,  whether  he  was  called  to  marry  at  that 
time  ;  and  having  settled  that  question  in  the  affirmative, 
the  next  inquiry  was,  what  sort  of  a  person  ought  he  to 
marry  1  The  remainder  is  too  extraordinary  and  too  char- 
acteristic to  be  given  in  any  words  but  his  own : — "  To 
this  I  answered  in  general,  such  a  one  as  Christ  would 
choose  for  me,  suppose  he  was  on  earth,  and  was  to  under- 
take that  business.  I  then  asked,  *  But  what  sort  of  a  per- 
son have  I  reason  to  believe  he  would  choose  for  me  ]* 
Here  I  fixed  on  the  following  properties,  and  ranged  them 
in  the  following  order  : — The  first  was  grace  :  I  was  quite 
certain  that  no  preacher  of  God's  word  ought,  on  any  con- 
sideration, to  marry  one  who  is  not  eminently  gracious. 
Secondly,  she  ought  to  have  tolerably  good  common  sense : 
a  Methodist  preacher,  in  particular,  who  travels  into  all 
parts,  and  sees  such  a  variety  of  company,  ought  not  to 
take  a  fool  with  him.  Thirdly,  as  I  knew  the  natural 
warmth  of  my  own  temper,  I  concluded  that  a  wise  and 
gracious  God  would  not  choose  a  companion  for  me  who 


30  THOMAS  OLIVERS. 

would  throw  oil,  but  rather  water,  upon  the  fire.  Fourthly, 
I  judged,  that,  as  I  was  connected  with  a  poor  people,  the 
will  of  God  was,  that  whoever  I  married  should  have  a 
small  competency,  to  prevent  her  being  chargeable  to  any." 
He  then  proceeds  to  say,  that,  upon  the  next  step  in  the 
inquiry,  "  Who  is  the  person  in  whom  these  properties  are 
found  V  he  immediately  turned  his  eyes  on  Miss  Green, 
**  a  person  of  a  good  family,  and  noted  through  all  the  north 
of  England  for  her  extraordinary  piety."  He  opened  his 
mind  to  her,  consulted  Mr.  Wesley,  married  her;  and  hav- 
ing, "  in  this  affair,  consulted  reason  and  the  will  of  God  so 
impartially,  had  abundant  reason  to  be  thankful  ever  after- 
ward." 

The  small-pox  had  shaken  his  constitution  :  for  eight 
years  after  that  dreadful  illness  his  health  continually  de- 
clined ;  and  he  was  thought  to  be  far  advanced  in  consump- 
tion when  he  was  appointed  to  the  York  circuit,  where  he 
had  to  take  care  of  sixty  societies,  and  ride  about  three 
hundred  miles  every  six  weeks.  Few  persons  thought  it 
possible  that  he  could  perform  the  journey  once  ;  but  he 
said,  "  I  am  determined  to  go  as  far  as  I  can,  and  when  I 
can  go  no  farther,  I  will  turn  back."  By  the  time  he  had 
got  half  round,  the  exercise,  and  perhaps  the  frequent 
change  of  air,  restored  in  some  degree  his  appetite,  and 
improved  his  sleep  ;  and  before  he  reached  the  end,  he  had 
begun  to  recover  flesh;  but  it  was  twelve  years  before  he 
felt  himself  a  hale  man.  The  few  fits  of  dejection  with 
which  he  was  troubled,  seem  to  have  originated  more  in 
bodily  weakness  than  in  the  temper  of  his  mind.  One  in- 
stance is  curious,  for  the  way  in  which  it  affected  others. 
While  he  was  dining  one  day  about  noon,  a  thought  came 
over  him  that  he  was  not  called  to  preach  ;  the  food,  there- 
fore, with  which  he  was  then  served,  did  not  belong  to  him, 
and  he  was  a  thief  and  a  robber  in  eating  it.  He  burst  into 
tears,  and  could  eat  no  more  ;  and  having  to  officiate  at  one 
o'clock,  went  to  the  preaching-house,  weeping  all  the  way. 
He  went  weeping  into  the  pulpit,  and  wept  sorely  while 
he  gave  out  the  hymn,  and  while  he  prayed,  and  while  he 
preached.  A  sympathetic  emotion  spread  through  the 
congregation,  which  made  them  receive  the  impression  like 
melted  wax ;  many  of  them  **  cried  aloud  for  the  disquiet- 
ness  of  their  souls;"  and  Olivers,  who,  looking  as  usual  for 
Bupernatural  agency  in  every  thing,  had  supposed  the  doubt 
of  his  own  qualifications  to  be  produced  by  the  tempter,  be- 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


SI 


lieved  now  that  the  Lord  had  brought  much  good  out  of 
that  temptation. 

After  serving  many  years  as  a  traveling  preacher,  he 
was  fixed  in  London  as  the  manager  of  Mr.  Wesley's  print- 
ing ;  an  occupation  which  did  not  interfere  with  his  preach- 
ing, but  made  him  stationary.  He  never  labored  harder 
in  his  life,  he  says ;  and  finding  it  good  both  for  body  and 
soul,  he  hoped  to  be  fully  employed  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Well  might  this  man,  upon  reviewing  his  own  eventful  his- 
tory, bless  God  for  the  manifold  mercies  which  he  had  ex- 
perienced, and  look  upon  the  Methodists  as  the  instruments 
of  his  deliverance  from  sin  and  death. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


JOHN  HAIME.  SAMPSON  STANIFORTH.  GEORQE  STORY. 

Among  the  memoirs  of  his  more  eminent  preachers, 
which  Wesley  published  in  his  magazine,  as  written  by 
themselves  for  general  edification,  is  "  A  short  Account  of 
God's  Dealings  with  Mr.  John  Haime."  Satan  has  so 
much  to  do  in  the  narrative,  that  this  is  certainly  a  misno- 
mer. It  is  accompanied  by  his  portrait,  taken  when  he 
was  seventy  years  of  age.  What  organs  a  craniologist 
might  have  detected  under  his  brown  wig,  it  is  impossible 
to  say;  but  Lavater  himself  would  never  have  discovered, 
in  those  mean  and  common  features,  the  turbulent  mind, 
and  passionate  fancy,  which  belonged  to  them.  Small,  in- 
expressive eyes,  scanty  eyebrows,  and  a  short,  broad,  vul- 
gar nose,  in  a  face  of  ordinary  proportions,  seem  to  mark 
out  a  subject  who  would  have  been  content  to  travel  a  jog- 
trot along  the  high-road  of  mortality,  and  have  looked  for 
no  greater  delight  than  that  of  smoking  and  boozing  in  the 
chimney-coiTier.  And  yet  John  Haime  passed  his  whole 
life  in  a  continued  spiritual  ague. 

He  was  born  at  Shaftesbury,  in  1710,  and  bred  up  to  his 
father's  employment,  of  gardening.  Not  liking  this,  he 
tried  button-making  ;  but  no  occupation  pleased  him  :  and 
indeed  he  appears,  by  his  own  account,  to  have  been  in  a 
state  little  differing  from  insanity ;  or  differing  from  it  in 
this  only,  that  he  had  sufficient  command  of  himself  not  to 
communicate  the  miserable  imaginations  by  which  he  was 
tormented.  He  describes  himself  as  undutiful  to  his  pa- 
rents, addicted  to  cursing,  swearing,  lying,  and  Sabbath- 
breaking  ;  tempted  with  blasphemous  thoughts,  and  per- 
petually in  fear  of  the  devil,  so  that  he  could  find  no  comfort 
in  working,  eating,  drinking,  or  even  in  sleeping.  "  The 
devil,"  he  says,  broke  in  upon  me  with  reasonings  con- 
cerning the  being  of  a  God,  till  my  senses  were  almost 
gone.  He  then  so  strongly  tempted  me  to  blaspheme,  that 
I  could  not  withstand.    He  then  told  me,  '  Thou  art  inev- 


JOHN  HAIMC. 


33 


itably  damned ;'  and  I  readily  believed  him.  This  made 
me  sink  into  despair,  as  a  stone  into  the  mighty  water.  I 
now  began  to  wander  about  by  the  river  side,  and  through 
woods  and  solitary  places ;  many  times  looking  up  to 
heaven  with  a  heart  ready  to  break,  thinking  I  had  no  part 
there.  I  thought  every  one  happy  but  myself,  the  devil 
continually  telling  me  there  was  no  mercy  for  me.  I  ciied 
for  help,  but  found  no  relief ;  so  I  said,  there  is  no  hope, 
and  gave  the  reins  to  my  evil  desires,  not  caring  which  end 
went  foremost,  but  giving  up  myself  to  wicked  company 
and  all  their  evil  ways.  And  I  was  hastening  on,  when 
the  great  tremendous  God  met  me,  as  a  lion  in  the  way ; 
and  his  holy  Spirit,  whom  I  had  been  so  long  grieving,  re- 
turned with  greater  force  than  ever.  I  had  no  rest  day  or 
night.  I  was  afraid  to  go  to  bed,  lest  the  devil  should 
fetch  me  away  before  morning.  I  was  afraid  to  shut  my 
eyes,  lest  I  should  awake  in  hell.  I  was  ten-ified  when 
asleep  ;  sometimes  dreaming  that  many  devils  were  in  the 
room  ready  to  take  me  away ;  sometimes  that  the  world 
was  at  an  end.  At  other  times  I  thought  I  saw  the  world 
on  fire,  and  the  wicked  left  to  burn  therein,  with  myself 
among  them  ;  and  when  I  awoke,  my  senses  were  almost 
gone.  I  was  often  on  the  point  of  destroying  myself,  and 
was  stopped,  I  know  not  how.  Then  did  I  weep  bitterly ; 
I  moaned  like  a  dove,  I  chattered  like  a  swallow." 

He  relates  yet  more  violent  paroxysms  than  these  :  how, 
having  risen  from  his  knees,  upon  a  sudden  impulse  that 
he  would  not  pray,  nor  be  beholden  to  God  for  mercy,  he 
passed  the  whole  night  as  if  his  very  body  had  been  in  a 
fire,  and  hell  within  him ;  thoroughly  persuaded  that  the 
devil  was  in  the  room,  and  fully  expecting  every  moment 
that  he  would  be  let  loose  upon  him.  He  says,  that  in  an 
excess  of  blasphemous  frenzy,  having  a  stick  in  his  hand, 
he  threw  it  toward  heaven  against  God  with  the  utmost 
enmity ;  and  he  says  that  this  act  was  followed  by  what  he 
supposed  to  be  a  supernatural  appearance  :  that  immedi- 
ately he  saw,  in  the  clear  sky,  a  creature  like  a  swan,  but 
much  larger,  part  black,  part  brown,  which  flew  at  him, 
went  just  over  his  head,  and  lighting  on  the  ground,  at 
about  forty  yards'  distance,  stood  staring  upon  him.  The 
reader  must  not  suppose  this  to  be  mere  fiction  ;  what  he 
saw  was  certainly  a  bustard,  whose  nest  was  near  ;*  but 

♦  [If  it  is  granted,  as  is  probably  the  case,  that  this  conjecture  is 
correct,  it  does  not  compel  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  nothing  of 

B* 


34 


JOHN  HAIME. 


Wesley  pablishes  the  story  as  Haime  wrote  it,  without  any 
qualifying  word  or  observation,  and  doubtless  believed  it 
as  it  was  written.  Had  this  poor  man  been  a  Romanist, 
he  would  have  found  beads  and  holy  water  effectual  amu- 
lets in  such  cases;  anodynes  would  have  been  the  best  pal- 
liatives in  such  a  disease ;  and  he  might  have  been  cured 
through  the  imagination,  when  no  remedy  could  be  applied 
to  the  understanding. 

In  this  extraordinary  state  of  mind  he  forsook  his  wife 
and  children,  and  enlisted  in  the  queen's  regiment  of  dra- 
goons. The  life  which  John  Bunyan  wrote  of  himself, 
under  the  title  of  "  Grace  abounding  to  the  Chief  of  Sin- 
ners," now  fell  into  his  hands.  He  read  it  with  the  deepest 
attention,  finding  that  the  case  nearly  resembled  his  own  ; 
he  thought  it  the  best  book  he  had  ever  seen ;  and  it  gave 
him  some  hope  of  mercy.  "  In  every  town  where  we 
stayed,"  says  he,  "  I  went  to  church ;  but  I  did  not  hear 
what  I  wanted  ;  *  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  !'  Being  come  to  Alnwick,  Sa- 
tan desired  to  have  me,  that  he  might  sift  me  as  wheat. 
And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  came  upon  me  with  such  weight, 
as  made  me  roar  for  very  anguish  of  spirit.  Many  times  I 
stopped  in  the  street,  afiaid  to  go  one  step  farther,  lest  I 
should  step  into  hell.  I  now  read  and  fasted,  and  went  to 
church,  and  prayed  seven  times  a-day.  One  day,  as  I 
walked  by  the  Tweed  side,  I  cried  out  aloud,  being  all 
athirst  for  God,  '  Oh  that  thou  wouldst  hear  my  prayer,  and 
let  my  cry  come  up  before  thee!'  The  Lord  heard  ;  he 
sent  a  gracious  answer;  he  lifted  me  up  out  of  the  dun- 
geon ;  he  took  away  all  my  son-ow  and  fear,  and  filled  my 
soul  with  peace  and  joy.  The  stream  glided  sweetly  along, 
and  all  nature  seemed  to  rejoice  with  me."  But  left,  as  he 
was,  wholly  to  his  own  diseased  imagination,  the  hot  and 
cold  fits  succeeded  each  other  with  little  interval  of  rest. 
Being  sent  to  London  with  the  camp-equipage,  he  went 

divine  providence  in  the  affair.  It  is  a  capital  fault  of  Mr.  Southey's 
philosophy,  that  it  is  not  merely  atheistical,  but  in  many  instances  God- 
destroying.  Could  not  the  same  hand  that  directed  the  instincts  of  the 
"  two  she-bears"  at  Mount  Bethel,  direct  a  bustard,  by  her  care  for  her 
nest,  to  be  a  medium  of  reproof  to  John  Haime  ?  That  Wesley  pub- 
lished the  account  without  comment,  is  no  proof  that  he  believed  the 
appearance  to  be  supernatural,  though  he  was  not  so  much  an  atheist 
(or  to  use  a  less  opprobrious  synonym,  a  Socinian)  as  to  deny  that  God 
could  have  had  any  thing  to  do  in  it.    See  Appendix,  Note  II. — Am. 


JOHN  HAIME. 


35 


to  hear  one  of  Whitefield's  preachers ;  and  ventured,  as  he 
was  coming  back  from  the  meeting,  to  tell  him  the  distress 
of  his  soul.  The  preacher,  whose  charity  seems  to  have 
been  upon  a  par  with  his  wisdom,  made  answer,  '*  The 
work  of  the  devil  is  upon  you,"  and  rode  away.  "  It  was 
of  the  tender  mercies  of  God,"  says  poor  Haime,  "  that  I 
did  not  put  an  end  to  my  life." 

"  Yet,"  he  says,  "  I  thought  if  I  must  be  damned  myself, 
I  will  do  what  I  can  that  others  may  be  saved ;  so  I  began 
to  reprove  open  sin  wherever  I  saw  or  heard  it,  and  to 
warn  the  ungodly,  that,  if  they  did  not  repent,  they  would 
surely  perish :  but,  if  I  found  any  that  were  weary  and 
heavy-laden,  I  told  them  to  wait  upon  the  Lord,  and 
he  would  renew  their  strength  ;  yet  I  found  no  strength 
myself."  He  was,  however,  lucky  enough  to  hear  Charles 
Wesley,  at  Colchester,  and  to  consult  him  when  the  service 
was  over.  Wiser  than  the  Calvinistic  preacher,  Charles 
Wesley  encouraged  him,  and  bade  him  go  on  without  fear, 
and  not  be  dismayed  at  any  temptation.  These  words  sunk 
deep,  and  were  felt  as  a  blessing  to  him  for  many  years. 
His  regiment  was  now  ordered  to  Flanders ;  and  writing 
from  thence  to  Wesley  for  comfort  and  counsel,  he  was 
exhorted  to  persevere  in  his  calling.  *'  It  is  but  a  little 
thing,"  said  Wesley,  "  that  man  should  be  against  you, 
while  you  know  God  is  on  your  side.  If  he  give  you  any 
companion  in  the  narrow  way,  it  is  well ;  and  it  is  well 
if  he  does  not :  but  by  all  means  miss  no  opportunity — 
speak  and  spare  not ;  declare  what  God  has  done  for  your 
soul ;  regard  not  worldly  prudence.  Be  not  ashamed  of 
Christ,  or  of  his  word,  or  of  his  work,  or  of  his  servants. 
Speak  the  truth,  in  love,  even  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked 
generation."  "  I  did  speak,"  he  says,  "  and  not  spare." 
He  was  in  the  battle  of  Dettingen,  and  being  then  in  a 
state  of  hope,  he  describes  himself  as  in  the  most  exalted 
and  enviable  state  of  mind,  while,  during  seven  hours,  he 
stood  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  He  was  in  a  new  world,  and 
his  heart  was  filled  with  love,  peace,  and  joy,  more  than 
tongue  could  express.  His  faith,  as  well  as  his  courage, 
was  put  to  the  trial,  and  both  were  found  proof 

Returning  into  Flanders,  to  take  up  their  winter-quar- 
ters, as  they  marched  beside  the  Maine,  they  "saw  the 
dead  men  lie  in  the  river,  and  on  the  banks,  as  dung  for 
the  earth ;  for  many  of  the  French,  attempting  to  pass  the 
river  after  the  bridge  had  been  broken,  had  been  drownfed, 


36 


JOHN  HAIME. 


and  cast  ashore,  where  there  was  none  to  bury  them." 
During  the  winter,  he  found  two  soldiers  who  agreed  to 
take  a  room  with  him,  and  meet  every  night  to  pray  and 
read  the  Scriptures  :  others  soon  joined  them,  a  society 
was  formed,  and  Methodism  was  organized  in  the  army 
with  great  success.    There  were  three  hundred  in  the 
society,  and  six  preachers  beside  Haime.   As  soon  as  they 
were  settled  in  a  camp,  they  built  a  tabernacle.    He  had 
generally  a  thousand  hearers,  officers  as  well  as  common 
soldiers ;  and  he  found  means  of  hiring  others  to  do  his 
duty,  that  he  might  have  more  leisure  for  carrying  on  the 
spiritual  war.    He  frequently  walked  between  twenty  and 
thirty  miles  a-day,  and  preached  five  times  a-day  for  a 
week  together.    "  I  had  three  armies  against  me,"  he  says : 
*'  the  French  army,  the  wicked  English  army,  and  an  army 
of  devils ;  but  I  feared  them  not."    It  was  not,  indeed, 
likely  that  he  should  go  on  without  some  difficulties,  his 
notions  of  duty  not  being  always  perfectly  in  accoi-dance 
with  the  established  rules  of  military  discipline.    An  officer 
one  day  asked  him  what  he  preached  ;  and  as  Haime  men- 
tioned certain  sins  which  he  more  particularly  denounced, 
and  which  perhaps  touched  the  inquirer  a  little  too  closely, 
the  officer  swore  at  him,  and  said,  that,  if  it  were  in  his 
power,  he  would  have  him  flogged  to  death.       Sir,"  re- 
plied Haime,  *'  you  have  a  commission  over  men ;  but  I 
have  a  commission  from  God  to  tell  you,  you  must  either 
repent  of  your  sins,  or  perish  everlastingly."    His  com- 
manding officer  asked  him  how  he  came  to  preach  ;  and 
being  answered,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  constrained  him  to 
call  his  fellow-sinners  to  repentance,  told  him  that  then  he 
must  restrain  that  spirit.    Haime  replied  he  would  die  first. 
It  is  to  the  honor  of  his  officers  that  they  manifested  no  seri- 
ous displeasure  at  language  like  this.    His  conduct  toward 
one  of  his  comrades  might  have  drawn  upon  him  much 
more  unpleasant  consequences.    This  was  a  reprobate  fel- 
low, who,  finding  a  piece  of  money,  after  some  search, 
which  he  thought  he  had  lost,  threw  it  on  the  table,  and 
exclaimed,  "  There  is  my  ducat ;  but  no  thanks  to  God,  any 
more  than  to  the  devil."    Hairne  wrote  down  the  words, 
and  brought  him  to  a  court-martial.    Being  then  asked  what 
he  had  to  say  against  him,  he  produced  the  speech  in 
writing ;  and  the  officer,  having  read  it,  demanded  to  know 
if  he  was  not  ashamed  to  take  account  of  such  matters. 
*'  No,  sir,"  replied  the  enthusiast ;  "if  I  had  heard  such 


JOHN  HAIME. 


37 


words  spoken  against  his  majesty,  King  George,  would  not 
you  have  accounted  me  a  villain  if  I  had  concealed  them  ]" 
The  only  corporal  pain  to  which  officers  were  subjected  by 
our  martial  law,  was  for  this  offense.  Till  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  they  were  liable  to  have  their  tongues  bored 
with  a  hot  iron ;  and,  mitigated  as  the  law  now  was,  it 
might  still  have  exposed  the  culprit  to  serious  punishment, 
if  the  officer  had  not  sought  to  end  the  matter  as  easily  as 
he  could ;  and  therefore,  after  telling  the  soldier  that  he 
was  worthy  of  death,  by  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  asked 
the  prosecutor  what  he  wished  to  have  done ;  giving  him 
thus  an  opportunity  of  atoning,  by  a  little  discretion,  for 
the  excess  of  his  zeal.  Haime  answered,  that  he  only  de- 
sired to  be  parted  from  him ;  and  thus  it  terminated.  It 
was  well  for  him  that  this  man  was  not  of  a  malicious  tem- 
per, or  he  might  easily  have  made  the  zealot  be  regarded 
by  all  his  fellows  in  the  odious  light  of  a  persecutor  and  an 
informer. 

While  he  was  quartered  at  Bruges,  General  Ponsonby 
granted  him  the  use  of  the  English  church,  and,  by  help 
of  some  good  singing,  they  brought  together  a  large  con- 
gregation. In  the  ensuing  spring  the  battle  of  Fontenoy 
was  fought.  The  Methodist  soldiers  were  at  this  time 
wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  fanaticism.  One  of  them 
being  fully  prepossessed  with  a  belief  that  he  should  fall 
in  the  action,  danced  for  joy  before  he  went  into  it,  ex- 
claiming, that  he  was  going  to  rest  in  the  bosom  of  Jesus. 
Others,  when  mortally  wounded,  broke  out  into  rapturous 
expressions  of  hope  and  assured  triumph,  at  the  near  pros- 
pect of  dissolution.  Haime  himself  was  under  the  not  less 
comfortable  persuasion  that  the  French  had  no  ball  made 
which  would  kill  him  that  day.  His  horse  was  killed  under 
him.  "  Where  is  your  God  now,  Haime  V  said  an  officer, 
seeing  him  fall.  "Sir,  he  is  here  with  me,"  replied  the 
soldier,  "  and  he  will  bring  me  out  of  the  battle."  Before 
Haime  could  extricate  himself  from  the  horse,  which  was 
lying  upon  him,  a  carmon-ball  took  off  the  officer's  head. 
Three  of  his  fellow-preachers  were  killed  in  this  battle,  a 
fourth  went  to  the  hospital,  having  both  arms  broken ;  the 
other  two  began  to  preach  the  pleasant  doctrine  of  Antino- 
mianism,  and  professed  that  they  were  always  happy ;  in 
which  one  of  them,  at  least,  was  sincere,  being  frequently 
drunk  twice  a-day.  Many  months  had  not  passed  before 
Haime  himself  relapsed  into  his  old  miserable  state.    "  I 


38 


JOHN  HAIME. 


was  off  my  watch,"  he  says,  "  and  fell  by  a  grievous  temp- 
tation. It  came  as  quick  as  lightning.  1  knew  not  it"  I 
was  in  my  senses  ;  but  I  fell,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  departed 
from  me.  Satan  was  let  loose,  and  followed  me  by  day 
and  by  night.  The  agony  of  my  mind  weighed  down  my 
body,  and  threw  me  into  a  bloody  flux.  I  was  carried  to 
a  hospital,  just  dropping  into  hell;  but  the  Lord  upheld 
me  with  an  unseen  hand,  quivering  over  the  great  gulf. 
Before  my  fall,  my  sight  was  so  strong,  that  I  could  look 
steadfastly  on  the  sun  at  noonday  ;  but  after  it,  I  could  not 
look  a  man  in  the  face,  nor  bear  to  be  in  any  company. 
The  roads,  the  hedges,  the  trees,  every  thing  seemed 
cursed  of  God.  Nature  appeared  void  of  God,  and  in  the 
possession  of  the  devil.  The  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  all  appeared  in  a  league  against  me.  I 
was  one  day  drawn  out  into  the  woods,  lamenting  my  for- 
lorn state,  and  on  a  sudden  I  began  to  weep  bitterly:  from 
weeping  I  fell  to  howling,  like  a  wild  beast,  so  that  the 
woods  resounded  ;  yet  could  I  say,  notwithstanding  my 
bitter  cry,  my  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groaning ;  never- 
theless, I  could  not  say,  '  Lord  have  mercy  upon  me  !'  if  I 
might  have  purchased  heaven  thereby.  Very  frequently 
Judas  was  represented  to  me  as  hanging  just  before  me.  So 
great  was  the  displeasure  of  God  against  me,  that  he,  in  great 
measure,  took  away  the  sight  of  my  eyes  :  I  could  not  see 
the  sun  for  more  than  eight  months ;  even  in  the  clearest 
summer  day,  it  always  appeared  to  me  Hke  a  mass  of 
blood.  At  the  same  time  I  lost  the  use  of  my  knees.  I 
could  truly  say,  *  Thou  hast  sent  fire  into  my  bones.'  I  was 
often  as  hot  as  if  I  was  burning  to  death  :  many  times  I 
looked  to  see  if  my  clothes  were  not  on  fire.  I  have  gone 
into  a  river  to  cool  myself ;  but  it  was  all  the  same  ;  for 
what  could  quench  the  wrath  of  His  indignation,  that  was 
let  loose  upon  me  1  At  other  times,  in  the  midst  of  sum- 
mer, I  have  been  so  cold  that  I  knew  not  how  to  bear  it : 
all  the  clothes  I  could  put  on  had  no  effect;  but  my  flesh 
shivered,  and  my  very  bones  quaked." 

As  a  mere  physical  case,  this  would  be  very  curious  ; 
but,  as  a  psychological  one,  it  is  of  the  highest  interest. 
For  seven  years  he  continued  in  this  miserable  state,  with- 
out one  comfortable  hope,  "  angry  at  God,  angry  at  him- 
self, angry  at  the  devil,"  and  fancying  himself  possessed 
with  more  devils  than  Mary  Magdalene.  Only  while  he 
was  preaching  to  others  (for  he  still  continued  to  preach) 


JOHN  HAtME. 


39 


his  distress  was  a  little  abated.  "  Some  inquire,"  says  he, 
**  what  could  move  me  to  preach,  while  I  was  in  such  a 
forlorn  condition  ?  They  must  ask  of  God,  for  1  can  not 
tell.  After  some  years  I  attempted  again  to  pray.  With 
this  Satan  was  not  well  pleased  ;  for  one  day,  as  1  was 
walking  alone,  and  faintly  crying  for  mercy,  suddenly  such 
a  hot  blast  of  brimstone  flashed  in  my  face,  as  almost  took 
away  my  breath  ;  and  presently  after  an  invisible  power 
struck  up  my  heels,  and  threw  me  violently  upon  my  face. 
One  Sunday  I  went  to  church  in  Holland,  when  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  to  be  administered.  I  had  a  great  desire  to 
partake  of  it ;  but  the  enemy  came  in  like  a  flood  to  hinder 
me,  pouring  in  temptations  of  every  kind.  I  resisted  him 
with  my  might,  till,  through  the  agony  of  my  mind,  the 
blood  gushed  out  at  my  mouth  and  nose.  However,  I  was 
enabled  to  conquer,  and  to  partake  of  the  blessed  elements. 
I  was  much  distressed  with  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night. 
I  dreamed  one  night  that  I  was  in  hell ;  another,  that  I 
was  on  Mount  ^tna  ;  that,  on  a  sudden,  it  shook  and  trem- 
bled exceedingly ;  and  that,  at  last,  it  split  asunder  in 
several  places,  and  sunk  into  the  burning  lake,  all  but 
that  little  spot  on  which  I  stood.  Oh,  how  thankful  was  I 
for  my  preservation  ! — I  thought  that  I  was  worse  than 
Cain.  In  rough  weather  it  was  often  suggested  to  me, 
*  This  is  on  your  account !  See,  the  earth  is  cursed  for 
your  sake;  and  it  will  be  no  better  till  you  are  in  hell  !* 
Often  did  I  wish  that  I  had  never  been  converted — often, 
that  I  had  never  been  born.  Yet  I  preached  every  day, 
and  endeavored  to  appear  open  and  free  to  my  brethren. 
I  encouraged  them  that  were  tempted.  I  thundered  out 
the  terrors  of  the  law  against  the  ungodly.  I  was  often 
violently  tempted  to  curse  and  swear,  before  and  after, 
and  even  while  I  was  preaching.  Sometimes,  when  I 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation,  I  could  hardly  re- 
frain from  laughing  aloud ;  yea,  from  uttering  all  kind  of 
ribaldry  and  filthy  conversation.  Frequently,  as  I  was  go- 
ing to  preach,  the  devil  has  set  upon  me  as  a  lion,  telling 
me  he  would  have  me  just  then,  so  that  it  has  thrown  me 
into  a  cold  sweat.  In  this  agony  I  have  caught  hold  of 
the  Bible,  and  read,  *  If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate 
with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous  !'  I  have  said 
to  the  enemy,  '  This  is  the  word  of  God,  and  thou  canst  not 
deny  it!'  Thereat  he  would  be  like  a  man  that  shrunk 
back  from  the  thrust  of  a  sword.    But  he  would  be  at  me 


40 


JOHN  HAIME. 


again.  I  again  met  him  in  the  same  way ;  till  at  last, 
blessed  be  God  !  he  fled  from  me.  And  even  in  the  midst 
of  his  sharpest  assaults,  God  gave  me  just  strength  enough 
to  bear  them.  When  he  has  strongly  suggested,  just  as 
I  was  going  to  preach,  '  I  will  have  thee  at  last,'  I  have 
answered  (sometimes  with  too  much  anger),  *  I  will  have 
another  out  of  thy  hand  first!'  And  many,  while  I  was 
mvself  in  the  deep,  were  truly  convinced  and  converted  to 
God." 

Having  returned  to  England,  and  obtained  his  discharge 
from  the  army,  he  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  a 
traveling  preacher.  This,  however,  did  not  deliver  him 
from  his  miserable  disease  of  mind  :  he  could  neither  be 
satisfied  with  preaching  nor  without  it ;  wherever  he  went 
he  was  not  able  to  remain,  but  was  continually  wandering 
to  and  fro,  seeking  rest,  but  finding  none.  "  I  thought," 
he  says,  "  if  David  or  Peter  had  been  living,  they  would 
have  pitied  me."  Wesley,  after  a  while,  took  him  as  a 
companion  in  one  of  his  rounds,  knowing  his  state  of  mind, 
and  knowino^  how  to  bear  with  it,  and  to  manacre  it.  "  It 
was  good  for  him,"  he  said,  "  to  be  in  the  fiery  furnace  : 
he  should  be  purified  therein,  but  not  consumed."  Year 
after  year  he  continued  in  this  extraordinary  state,  till,  in 
the  year  1766,  he  was  persuaded  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  go  and 
dwell  with  a  person  at  St.  Ives,  in  Cornwall,  who  wanted 
a  worn-out  preacher  to  live  with  him,  take  care  of  his 
family,  and  pray  with  him  morning  and  evening.  Here  he 
was,  if  possible,  ten  times  worse  than  before ;  and  it 
seemed  to  him,  that,  unless  he  got  some  relief,  he  must  die 
in  despair.  "One  day,"  he  says,  "  I  retired  into  the  hall, 
fell  on  my  face,  and  cried  for  mercy ;  but  got  no  answer. 
I  got  up,  and  walked  up  and  down  the  room,  wringing  my 
hands,  and  crying  like  to  break  my  heart;  begging  of  God, 
for  Christ's  sake,  if  there  "was  any  mercy  for  me,  to  help 
me  ;  and,  blessed  be  his  name,  all  on  a  sudden,  I  found 
such  a  change  through  my  soul  and  body,  as  is  past  descrip- 
tion. I  was  afraid  I  should  alarm  the  whole  house  with 
the  expressions  of  my  joy.  I  had  a  full  witness  from  the 
Spirit  of  God  that  I  should  not  find  that  bondage  any  more. 
Glory  be  to  God  for  all  his  mercy  !"  Twenty  years  the 
disease  had  continued  upon  him  ;  and  it  now  left  him,  by 
his  own  account,  as  instantaneously  as  it  came  :  and  his 
account  is  credible  ;  for  he  acknowledges  that  he  had  not 
the  same  faith  as  in  his  former  state  :  the  age  of  rapture 


SAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


41 


was  over,  and  the  fierceness  of  his  disposition  was  spent, 
though  its  restlessness  was  unabated.  Though  his  chap- 
lainship  with  Mr.  Hoskins  had  every  thing  which  could 
render  such  a  situation  comfortable,  he  could  not  be  at 
ease  till  he  was  again  in  motion,  and  had  resumed  his 
itinerant  labors.  He  lived  till  the  great  age  of  seventy- 
eight,  and  died  of  a  fever,  which  was  more  than  twelve 
months  consuming  him,  and  which  wore  him  to  the  bone 
before  he  went  to  rest.  But  though  his  latter  days  were 
pain,  they  were  not  sorrow.  *'  He  preached  as  long  as  he 
was  able  to  speak,  and  longer  than  he  could  stand  without 
support."  Some  of  his  last  words  were,  "O  Lord,  in  thee 
have  I  trusted,  and  have  not  been  confounded;"  and  he 
expired  in  full  confidence  that  a  convoy  of  angels  were 
ready  to  conduct  his  soul  to  the  paradise  of  God.* 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  John  Haime's  qualifications 
for  preaching  the  Gospel,  there  was  one  man,  at  least, 
who  had  reason  to  bless  him  as  his  greatest  earthly  bene- 
factor :  this  was  Sampson  Staniforth,  who  served  at  the 
same  time  as  a  private  in  the  army.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
cutler  at  Sheffield,  and  grew  up  without  any  moral  or  re- 
ligious instruction,  so  that  he  had  "  no  fear  of  God  before 
his  eyes,  no  thought  of  his  providence,  of  his  saving  mercy, 
nor  indeed  of  his  having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  world." 
Why  he  was  bom  into  the  world,  what  was  his  business  in 
it,  or  where  he  was  to  go  when  this  life  was  over,  were 
considerations,  he  says,  which  never  entered  into  his  mind; 
and  he  grew  up  in  a  course  of  brutal  vices,  being  as  utterly 
without  God  in  the  world  as  the  beasts  that  perish.  He 
describes  himself  as  not  only  fierce  and  passionate,  but  also 
sullen  and  malicious,  without  any  feeling  of  humanity ;  and 
disposed,  instead  of  weeping  with  those  who  wept,  to 
rejoice  in  their  sufferings.  This  hopeful  subject  enlisted 
as  a  soldier  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  in  spite  of  the  tears  and 

*  In  this  sorrowful  case,  it  is  difficult  not  to  think,  and  even  to  hope, 
that  it  is  that  of  a  patient  so  erroneously  treated  from  the  beginning  as 
to  make  the  late  and  final  recovery  a  work  of  divine  mercy,  in  spite 
of  the  physician  and  his  injudicious  medicines ;  which  yet,  in  a  differ- 
ent case,  might  have  been  right  ones.  The  Moravian  doctrine,  espe- 
cially that  of  imputed  righteousness,  would  have  suited  this  case. 
Haime  should  have  been  led  to  fix  his  whole  attention,  and  all  the  ardor 
of  his  seeking,  on  that  which  he  was  sure  to  find  ;  and  there,  where  he 
was  sure  to  find  it — the  righteousness  of  Christ  in  Christ — the  infinite 
love  and  loveliness  of  the  redeeming  God,  the  Son  of  Man ;  in  short,  he 
should  have  been  drawn  out  of  himself,  or  rather,  out  of  the  morbid 
acts  and  products  which  he  took  for  himself — S^.  T.  C. 


42 


EAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


entreaties  of  his  mother ;  and,  after  some  hair-breadth 
escapes  from  situations  into  which  he  was  led  by  his  own 
rashness  and  profligacy,  he  joined  the  army  in  Germany  a 
few  days  after  the  battle  of  Dettingen.  While  they  were 
encamped  at  Worms,  orders  were  read  at  the  head  of  every 
regiment,  that  no  soldier  should  go  above  a  mile  from  the 
camp  on  pain  of  death,  which  was  to  be  executed  imme- 
diately, without  the  forms  of  a  court-martial.  This  did 
not  deter  Staniforth  from  straggling;  and  he  was  drinking 
with  some  of  his  comrades  in  a  small  town  to  the  left  of  the 
camp,  when  a  captain,  with  a  guard  of  horse,  came  to  take 
them  up,  being  appointed  to  seize  all  he  could  find  out  of 
the  lines,  and  hang  up  the  first  man  without  delay.  The 
guard  entered  the  town  and  shut  the  gates.  He  saw  them 
in  time,  ran  to  a  wicket  in  the  great  gate,  which  was  only 
upon  the  latch,  and  before  the  gate  itself  could  be  opened 
to  let  the  horsemen  follow  him,  got  into  the  vineyards,  and 
there  concealed  himself  by  lying  down.  He  had  a  still 
narrower  escape  not  long  afterward  :  many  complaints  had 
been  made  of  the  marauders  in  the  English  army  ;  and  it 
was  proclaimed  that  the  guard  would  be  out  every  night, 
to  hang  up  the  first  offenders  who  were  taken.  This  fellow 
listened  to  the  proclamation,  and  set  out,  as  soon  as  the 
officer  who  read  it  had  turned  away,  upon  a  plundering 
party,  with  two  of  his  companions.  They  stole  four  bul- 
locks, and  were  met  by  an  officer  driving  them  to  the  camp. 
Staniforth  said  they  had  bought  them,  and  the  excuse  pass- 
ed. On  the  next  day  the  owners  came  to  the  camp  to 
make  their  complaint ;  and  three  of  the  beasts,  which  had 
been  sold,  but  not  slaughtered,  were  identified.  Orders 
were,  of  course,  given  to  arrest  the  thieves.  That  very 
morning  Staniforth  had  been  sent  to  some  distance  on  an 
out-party,  and  thus  Providence  again  preserved  him  from 
a  shameful  death. 

There  was  in  the  same  company  with  him  a  native  of 
Barnard  Castle,  by  name  Mark,  Bond,  a  man  of  a  melan- 
choly but  religious  disposition,  who  had  enlisted  in  the 
hope  of  being  killed.  "  His  ways,"  says  Staniforth,  were 
not  like  those  of  other  men  :  out  of  his  little  pay  he  saved 
money  to  send  to  his  friends.  We  could  never  get  him  to 
drink  with  us  ;  but  he  was  always  full  of  sorrow :  he  read 
much,  and  was  much  in  private  prayer."  The  state  of  his 
mind  arose  from  having  uttered  blasphemy  when  he  was  a 
little  boy,  and  the  thought  of  this  kept  him  in  a  constant 


SAMPSON  STANrFORTII. 


43 


state  of  wretchedness  and  despair.  A  Romanist  might 
here  observe,  that  a  distressing  case  like  this  could  not  have 
occurred  in  one  of  his  persuasion;  and  one  who  knows  that 
the  practice  of  confession  brings  with  it  evils  tenfold  greater 
than  those  which  it  palliates,  may  be  allowed  to  regret,  that 
in  our  church  there  should  be  so  little  intercourse  between 
the  pastor  and  the  people.  This  poor  man  might  have 
continued  his  whole  life  in  misery,  if  John  Haime  had  not 
taken  to  preaching  in  the  army :  he  went  to  hear  him,  and 
found  what  he  wanted  :  his  peace  of  mind  was  restored ; 
and  wishing  that  others  should  partake  in  the  happiness 
which  he  experienced,  he  could  think  of  no  one  who  stood 
more  in  need  of  the  same  spiritual  medicine  than  his  com- 
rade Staniforth.  He,  as  might  be  expected,  first  wondered 
at  his  conversation,  and  afterward  mocked  at  it.  Bond, 
however,  was  not  thus  to  be  discouraged  :  he  met  him  one 
day  when  he  was  in  distress,  having  neither  food,  money, 
nor  credit,  and  asked  him  to  go  and  hear  the  preaching. 
Staniforth  made  answer,  *'  You  had  better  give  me  some- 
thing to  eat  and  drink,  for  I  am  both  hungry  and  dry." 
Bond  did  as  he  was  requested ;  took  him  to  a  sutler's,  and 
treated  him,  and  persuaded  him  afterward,  reluctant  as  he 
was,  to  accompany  him  to  the  preaching.  Incoherent 
and  rhapsodical  as  such  preaching  would  be,  it  was  better 
suited  to  such  auditors  than  any  thing  more  temperate 
would  have  been :  it  was  level  to  their  capacities ;  and  the 
passionate  sincerity  with  which  it  was  delivered  found  the 
readiest  way  to  their  feelings.  Staniforth,  who  went  with 
great  unwillingness,  and  who  was  apparently  in  no  ways 
prepared  for  such  an  effect,  was,  by  that  one  sermon,  sud- 
denly and  effectually  reclaimed  from  a  state  of  habitual 
brutality  and  vice.  He  returned  to  his  tent  full  of  sorrow, 
thoroughly  convinced  of  his  miserable  state,  and  "  seeing 
all  his  sins  stand  in  battle-array  against  him."  The  next 
day  he  went  early  to  the  place  of  meeting :  some  soldiers 
were  reading  there,  some  singing  hymns,  and  others  were 
at  prayer.  One  came  up  to  him,  and  after  inquiring  how 
long  he  had  attended  the  preachers,  said  to  him,  "  Let  us 
go  to  prayer;"  and  Staniforth  was  obliged  to  confess  that 
he  could  not  pray,  for  he  had  never  prayed  in  his  life, 
neither  had  he  ever  read  in  any  devotional  book.  Bond 
had  a  pice  of  an  old  Bible,  and  gave  it  him,  saying,  "  I 
can  do  better  without  it  than  you."  This  was  a  true  friend. 
He  found  that  Staniforth  was  in  debt ;  and  telling  him  that 


44 


SAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


it  became  Christians  to  be  first  just,  and  then  charitable, 
said,  "  We  will  put  both  our  pays  together,  and  live  as  hard 
as  we  can,  and  what  we  spare  will  pay  the  debt."  Such 
practice  must  have  come  strongly  in  aid  of  the  preaching. 

From  that  time  Stanifbrth  shook  off  all  his  evil  courses  ; 
though  till  then  an  habitual  swearer,  he  never  afterward 
swore  an  oath ;  though  addicted  to  drinking,  he  never  was 
intoxicated  again  ;  though  a  gambler  from  his  youth  up,  he 
left  off  gaming ;  and  having  so  often  risked  his  neck  for  the 
sake  of  plunder,  he  would  not  now  gather  an  apple  or  a 
bunch  of  grapes.  Methodism  had  wrought  in  him  a  great 
and  salutary  work ;  but  it  taught  him  to  expect  another 
change  not  less  palpable  to  himself:  he  was  in  bitter  dis- 
tress under  the  weight  of  his  sins,  and  he  was  taught  to 
look  for  a  full  and  entire  sense  of  deliverance  from  the 
burden.  His  own  efforts  were  not  wanting  to  bring  on 
this  spiritual  crisis,  and  after  some  months  he  was  success- 
ful. The  account  which  he  gives  must  be  explained  by 
supposing  that  strong  passion  made  the  impression,  of  what 
was  either  a  sleeping  or  a  waking  dream,  strong  as  reality  ; 
a  far  more  probable  solution  than  would  be  afforded  by 
ascribing  it  to  any  willful  exaggeration  or  deliberate  false- 
hood. "  From  twelve  at  night  till  two,"  he  says,  "  it  was 
my  turn  to  stand  sentinel  at  a  dangerous  post.  I  had  a 
fellow-sentinel  ;  but  I  desired  him  to  go  away,  which  he 
willingly  did.  As  soon  as  I  was  alone,  I  knelt  down,  and 
determined  not  to  lise,  but  to  continue  crying  and  wrest- 
ling with  God,  till  he  had  mercy  on  me.  How  long  I  was 
in  that  agony  I  can  not  tell ;  but,  as  I  looked  up  to  heaven, 
I  saw  the  clouds  open  exceeding  bright,  and  I  saw  Jesus 
hanging  on  the  cross.  At  the  same  moment  these  words 
were  applied  to  my  heart,  *  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.' 
All  guilt  was  gone,  and  my  soul  was  filled  with  unutterable 
peace  :  the  fear  of  death  and  hell  was  vanished  away.  I 
was  filled  with  wonder  and  astonishment.  I  closed  my 
eyes,  but  the  impression  was  still  the  same ;  and  for  about 
ten  weeks,  while  I  was  awake,  let  me  be  where  I  would, 
the  same  appearance  was  still  before  my  eyes,  and  the 
same  impression  upon  my  heart,  *  Thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee.'  "  It  may  be  believed  that  Staniforth  felt  what  he 
describes,  and  imagined  what  he  appeared  to  see ;  but  to 
publish  such  an  account  as  Wesley  did,  without  one  quali- 
fying remark,  is  obviously  to  encourage  wild  and  danger- 
ous enthusiasm. 


SAMPSON  STANII'URTII. 


45 


Staniforth's  mother  had  bought  him  off  once  when  he 
enhsted,  and  sent  him  from  time  to  time  money,  and  such 
things  as  he  wanted  and  she  could  provide  for  him.  He 
now  wrote  her  a  long  letter,  asking  pardon  of  her  and  his 
father  for  all  his  disobedience ;  telling  them  that  God,  for 
Christ's  sake,  had  forgiven  him  his  sins,  and  desiring  her 
not  to  send  him  any  more  supplies,  which  he  knew  must 
straiten  her,  and  which  he  no  longer  wanted,  for  he  had 
learned  to  be  contented  with  his  pay.  This  letter  they 
could  not  very  well  understand ;  it  was  handed  about  till  it 
got  into  the  hands  of  a  dissenting  minister,  and  of  one  of 
the  leading  Methodists  at  Sheffield :  the  latter  sent  Stani- 
forth  a  **  comfortable  letter"  and  a  hymn-book  ;  the  former 
a  letter  also,  and  a  Bible,  which  was  more  precious  to  him 
than  gold ;  as  was  a  prayer-book  also,  which  his  mother 
sent  him.  He,  as  well  as  Haime,  came  safe  out  of  the 
battle  of  Fontenoy,  where  Bond  was  twice  preserved  in  an 
extraordinary  manner,  one  musket-ball  having  struck  some 
money  in  one  of  his  pockets,  and  another  having  been  re- 
pelled by  a  knife.  Soon  afterward  he  was  drafted  into  the 
artillery,  and  ordered  back  to  England  on  account  of  the 
rebellion  in  1745.  He  was  now  quartered  at  Deptford, 
and  from  thence  was  able,  twice  a-week,  to  attend  upon 
Wesley's  preaching  at  the  Foundry,  or  at  West-street 
Chapel.  At  Deptford  also  there  was  a  meeting,  and  there 
he  found  a  woman  who,  being  of  the  same  society,  was 
willing  to  take  him  for  a  husband  if  he  were  out  of  the 
army.  On  his  part,  the  match  appears  to  have  been  a  good 
one  as  to  worldly  matters  :  she  was  persuaded  to  marry 
him  before  his  discharge  was  obtained;  and,  on  his  wed- 
ding-day, he  was  ordered  to  embark  immediately  for 
Holland. 

The  army  which  he  joined  in  Holland  was  under  the 
command  of  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine  ;  and  as  they  soon 
came  within  sight  of  the  enemy,  Staniforth  had  too  much 
spirit  to  apply  for  his  discharge,  "  lest  he  should  seem  afraid 
to  fight,  and  so  bring  a  disgrace  upon  the  Gospel."  Near 
Maestricht,  two  English  regiments,  of  which  his  was  one, 
with  some  Hanoverians  and  Dutch,  in  all  about  twelve  thou- 
sand men,  being. advanced  in  front  of  the  army,  had  a  sharp 
action.  The  prince,  according  to  this  account,  forgot  to 
send  them  orders  to  retreat,  "  being  busy  with  his  cups  and 
his  ladies ;"  and  it  appears,  indeed,  as  he  says,  that  many 
brave  lives  were  vilely  thrown  away  that  day  by  his  gross 


46 


SAMPSON  STAMFORTH. 


misconduct.  Among  them  was  poor  Bond  ;  a  ball  went 
through  his  leg,  and  he  fell  at  Staniforth's  feet.  '*  I  and 
another,"  says  he,  "  took  him  in  our  arms,  and  carried  him 
out  of  the  ranks,  while  he  was  exhorting  me  to  stand  fast 
in  the  Lord.  We  laid  him  down,  took  our  leave  of  him, 
and  fell  into  our  ranks  again."  In  their  farther  retreat, 
Stanifprth  again  met  with  him,  when  he  had  received  an- 
other ball  through  his  thigh,  and  the  French  pressed  upon 
them  at  that  time  so  closely,  that  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
him,  thus  mortally  wounded,  "  but  with  his  heart  full  of 
love,  and  his  eyes  full  of  Heaven." — "  There,"  says  he, 
"  fell  a  great  Christian,  a  good  soldier,  and  a  faithful  friend." 

When  the  army  went  into  winter-quarters,  Staniforth 
obtained  his  discharge  for  fifteen  guineas,  which  his  wife 
remitted  him.  He  now  settled  at  Deptford,  became  a 
leading  man  among  the  Methodists  there,  and  finally  a 
preacher  in  his  own  neighborhood,  and  in  and  about  Lon- 
don. And  however  little  it  was  to  be  expected  from  the 
early  part  of  his  life,  and  the  school  in  which  he  was  trained, 
his  life  was  honorable  to  himself,  and  beneficial  to  others. 
**  I  made  it  a  rule,"  he  says,  "  from  the  beginning,  to  bear 
my  own  expenses  :  this  cost  me  ten  or  twelve  pounds  a- 
year ;  and  1  bless  God  I  can  bear  it.  Beside  visiting  the 
class  and  band,  and  visiting  the  sick,  I  preach  five  or  six 
times  in  the  week.  And  the  Lord  gives  me  to  rejoice  in 
that  I  can  still  say,  these  hands  have  ministered  to  ray  ne- 
cessities." His  preaching  was  so  well  liked,  that  he  was 
more  than  once  invited  to  leave  the  Connection,  and  take 
care  of  a  separate  congregation,  with  a  salary  of  J^iO  or 
.£50  a-year :  but  he  was  attached  to  Methodism ;  he  saw 
that  it  was  much  injured  by  such  separations;  he  was  not 
weary  of  his  labors ;  and  as  to  pecuniary  considerations, 
they  had  no  weight  with  him.  The  course  of  his  life,  and 
the  happy  state  of  his  mind,  are  thus  described  by  himself: 
"  I  pray  with  my  wife  before  I  go  out  in  the  morning,  and 
at  breakfast-time  with  my  family  and  all  who  are  in  the 
house.  The  former  part  of  the  day  I  spend  in  my  business; 
my  spare  hours  in  reading  and  private  exercise.  Most 
evenings  I  preach,  so  that  I  am  seldom  at  home  before  nine 
o'clock  ;  but,  though  I  am  so  much  out  at  nights,  and  gen- 
erally alone,  God  keeps  me  both  from  evil  men  and  evil 
spirits :  and  many  times  I  am  as  fresh  when  I  come  in  at 
night,  as  I  was  when  I  went  out  in  the  morning.  I  con- 
clude the  day  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  in  praying 


GEORGE  STORY. 


47 


with  my  family.  I  am  now  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  my 
age,  and,  glory  be  to  God,  I  am  not  weary  of  well-doing. 
I  find  my  desires  after  God  stronger  than  ever;  my  under- 
standing is  more  clear  in  the  things  of  God  ;  and  my  heart 
is  united  more  than  ever  both  to  God  and  his  people.  I 
know  their  religion  and  mine  is  the  gift  of  God  through 
Christ,  and  the  work  of  God  by  his  Spirit :  it  is  revealed 
in  Scripture,  and  is  received  and  retained  by  faith,  in  the 
use  of  all  gospel  ordinances.  It  consists  in  an  entire  dead- 
ness  to  the  world  and  to  our  own  will ;  and  an  entire  de- 
votedness  of  our  souls,  bodies,  lime,  and  substance  to  God, 
through  Christ  Jesus.  In  other  words,  it  is  the  loving  the 
Lord  our  God  with  all  our  hearts,  and  all  mankind  for 
God's  sake.  This  arises  from  a  knowledge  of  his  love  to 
us  :  TVe  love  him,  because  we  know  he  Jirst  loved  us  ;  a  sense 
of  which  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  is  given  to  us.  From  the  little  hereof  that  I  have  ex- 
perienced, I  know,  he  that  experiences  this  religion  is  a 
happy  man." 

No  man  found  his  way  into  the  Methodist  connection  in 
a  quieter  manner,  nor  brought  with  him  a  finer  and  more 
reasonable  mind,  than  George  Story,  a  native  of  Harthill, 
in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  The  circumstances  of 
his  boyhood  were  favorable  to  his  disposition :  his  parents 
taught  him  early  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  and  though  their 
instructions,  he  says,  were  tedious  and  irksome,  yet  the 
impression  which  they  made  was  never  lost,  and  often  re- 
curred when  he  was  alone,  or  in  places  of  temptation. 
The  minister  of  the  parish  also  was  a  pious  and  venerable 
man  :  the  solemnity  with  which  he  performed  his  duty  im- 
pressed the  boy  with  an  awful  sense  of  the  divine  presence  ; 
and,  when  he  listened  to  the  burial-service,  he  had  a  distant 
prospect  of  judgment  and  eternity.  Thunder  and  lightning 
filled  him  with  a  solemn  delight,  as  a  manifestation  of  the 
majesty  and  power  of  the  Almighty.  His  heart,  as  well  as 
his  imagination,  was  open  to  all  wholesome  influences;  and 
having  one  day  killed  a  young  bird  by  throwing  a  stone  at 
it,  grief  and  remorse  for  the  pain  which  he  had  inflicted 
kept  him  waking  during  several  nights;  and  tears  and 
prayers  to  God  for  pardon  were  the  only  means  wherein 
he  could  find  relief.  After  a  decent  school  education,  he 
was  placed  with  a  country  bookseller.  Here,  being  sur- 
rounded with  books,  he  read  vnth  insatiable  and  indis- 
criminate avidity:  histories,  novels,  plays,  and  romances, 


48 


GEORGE  STORY. 


were  pursued  "by  dozens.  He  studied  short-hand,  and  im- 
proved the  knowledge  which  he  had  learned  at  school  of 
geometry  and  trigonometry ;  picked  up  something  of  ge- 
ography, astronomy,  botany,  anatomy,  and  other  branches 
of  physical  science ;  and  tired  himself  with  the  Statutes  at 
Large.  The  lives  of  the  heathen  philosophers  delighted 
him  so  much,  that  at  one  time  he  resolved  to  take  them  for 
his  models ;  and  Thomas  Taylor  or  John  Fransham  would 
then  have  found  him  in  a  fit  state  to  have  received  the 
mysteries  of  Paganism.  He  frequently  read  till  eleven  at 
night,  and  began  again  at  four  or  five  in  the  morning;  and 
he  always  had  a  book  before  him  while  he  was  at  his 
meals. 

From  the  shop  he  entered  the  printing-office,  and,  apply- 
ing himself  sedulously  to  the  business,  learned  to  dispatch 
it  with  much  regularity,  so  that  he  had  plenty  of  time  both 
for  study  and  recreation.  One  summer  he  was  an  angler, 
the  next  he  was  a  florist,  and  cultivated  auriculas  and  poly- 
anthuses. These  pursuits  soon  became  insipid.  He  tried 
cards,  and  found  them  only  implements  for  unprofitably 
consuming  time;  and,  when  led  into  drinking,  in  the  midst 
of  that  folly  he  saw  its  madness,  and  turned  from  it  with 
abhorrence.  He  hoped  that  horse-racing  might  be  found 
a  more  manly  and  rational  amusement ;  so  he  attended  the 
races  at  Doncaster,  with  the  most  flattering  expectations 
of  the  happiness  he  should  find  that  week.  "  The  first 
day,"  says  he,  "vanished  away  without  any  satisfaction; 
the  second  was  still  worse.  As  I  passed  through  the  com- 
pany, dejected  and  disappointed,  it  occurred  to  my  mind, 
What  is  all  this  immense  multitude  assembled  here  for? 
To  see  a  few  horses  gallop  two  or  three  times  round  the 
course  as  if  the  devil  were  both  in  them  and  their  riders  ! 
Certainly,  we  are  all  mad,  we  are  fit  for  Bedlam,  if  we 
imagine  that  the  Almighty  made  us  for  no  other  purpose 
but  to  seek  happiness  in  such  senseless  amusements.  I 
was  ashamed  and  confounded,  and  determined  never  to  be 
seen  there  any  more." 

At  this  time  he  had  risen  to  the  management  of  the 
printing-office  :  he  had  to  publish  a  weekly  newspaper, 
select  the  paragraphs  from  other  papers,  prepare  the  ad- 
vertisements, correct  the  press,  and  superintend  the  jour- 
neymen and  apprentices ;  an  employment,  he  says,  which 
flattered  his  vanity,  increased  his  native  pride,  and  conse- 
quently led  him  farther  from  God.  For  now,  in  the  course 


GEORGE  STORY. 


49 


of  his  desultory  reading,  he  fell  in  with  some  of  those  per- 
nicious writers  who  have  employed  themselves  in  sapping 
the  foundations  of  human  happiness.  "  I  read  and  reason- 
ed," says  he,  "  till  the  Bible  grew  not  only  dull,  but,  I 
thought,  full  of  contradictions.  I  staggered  first  at  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  at  length  gave  up  the  Bible  alto- 
gether, and  sunk  into  Fatalism  and  Deism."  In  this  state 
of  mind,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  went  to  London,  in 
full  hope  of  there  finding  the  happiness  of  which  he  was  in 
search.  But  new  things  soon  became  old :  they  palled 
upon  him ;  and,  instead  of  happiness,  an  unaccountable 
anguish  of  spirit  followed  whenever  his  mind  sunk  back 
upon  itself.  He  would  gladly  have  gone  abroad,  for  the 
sake  of  continual  change,  but  it  was  a  time  of  war.  He 
resolved  to  try  if  religion  would  afford  him  relief,  and  went 
to  several  places  of  worship ;  "  but  even  this,"  says  he, 
**  was  in  vain ;  there  was  something  dull  and  disagreeable 
wherever  1  turned  my  eyes,  and  I  knew  not  that  the  mala- 
dy was  in  myself.  At  length  I  found  Mr.  Whitefield's 
chapel,  in  Tottenham-court-road,  and  was  agreeably  en- 
tertained with  his  manner  of  preaching :  his  discourses 
were  so  engaging,  that,  when  I  retired  to  my  lodgings,  I 
wrote  down  the  substance  of  them  in  my  journal,  and  fre- 
quently read  them  over  with  pleasure ;  but  still  nothing 
reached  my  case,  nor  had  I  any  light  into  the  state  of  my 
soul.  Meantime,  on  the  week  nights,  I  went  to  the  thea- 
ters; nor  could  I  discern  any  difference  between  Mr. 
Whitefield's  preaching,  and  seeing  a  good  tragedy." 

Weary  of  every  thing,  and  all  places  being  alike  to  him, 
he  yielded  to  the  persuasion  of  his  friends,  returned  into 
the  country,  and  thinking  himself  too  young  and  inexperi- 
enced to  enter  into  business  for  himself,  as  they  would  fain 
have  had  him  do,  undertook,  once  more,  the  management 
of  a  printing-office.  He  wanted  for  nothing,  he  had  more 
money  than  he  knew  what  to  do  with;  yet,  in  his  own  words, 
he  was  as  wretched  as  he  could  live,  without  knowing  either 
the  cause  of  this  misery,  or  any  way  to  escape  from  it. 
For  some  years  he  had  attempted  to  regulate  his  conduct 
according  to  reason ;  but  even  at  that  bar  he  stood  con- 
demned. His  temper  was  passionate  ;  he  struggled  against 
this,  having  thus  far  profited  by  the  lessons  of  the  Stoics  ; 
and  greatly  was  he  pleased  when  he  obtained  a  victory 
over  his  own  anger;  but,  upon  sudden  temptation,  all  his 
resolutions  were  **as  a  thread  of  flax  before  the  fire."  He 

VOL.  II. — C 


50 


GEORGE  STORY. 


mixed  with  jovial  company,  and  endeavored  to  catch  their 
spirit ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  levity,  there  was  a  weight  and 
hollowTiess  within  him  :  experience  taught  him  that  this 
laughter  was  madness ;  and  when  he  returned  to  sober 
thoughts,  he  found  into  how  deep  a  melancholy  a  simulated 
mirth  subsides.  He  wandered  to  different  places  of  wor- 
ship, and  found  matter  of  disquiet  at  all ;  at  length  he 
forsook  them  all,  and  shut  himself  up  on  Sundays,  or  went 
into  the  solitude  of  a  neighboring  wood.  "  Here,"  says 
he,  "  I  considered,  with  the  closest  attention  I  was  able, 
the  arguments  for  and  against  Deism.  I  would  gladly 
have  given  credit  to  the  Christian  revelation,  but  could 
not.  My  reason  leaned  on  the  wrong  side,  and  involved 
me  in  endless  perplexities.  I  likewise  endeavored  to  for- 
tify myself  with  stronger  arguments  and  firmer  resolutions 
against  my  evil  tempers  ;  for,  since  I  could  not  be  a  Christ- 
ian, I  wished,  however,  to  be  a  good  moral  heathen.  In- 
ternal anguish  frequently  compelled  me  to  supplicate  the 
Divine  Being  for  mercy  and  truth.  I  seldom  gave  over 
till  ray  heart  was  melted,  and  I  felt  something  of  God's 
presence ;  but  I  retained  those  gracious  impressions  only 
for  a  short  time." 

It  so  happened  that  he  was  employed  to  abridge  and 
print  the  life  of  Eugene  Aram,  a  remarkable  man,  who 
was  executed  for  a  case  of  murder,  in  a  strange  manner 
brought  to  light  long  after  the  commission  of  the  crime. 
The  account  of  this  person's  extraordinary  attainments 
kindled  Story  with  emulation,  and  he  had  determined  to 
take  as  much  pains  himself  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge, 
when  some  thoughts  fastened  upon  his  mind,  and  broke  in 
pieces  all  his  schemes.  "  The  wisdom  of  this  world,"  said 
he  to  himself,  "  is  foolishness  with  God.  What  did  this 
man's  wisdom  profit  him  ]  It  did  not  save  him  from  being 
a  thief  and  a  murderer ; — no,  nor  from  attempting  his  own 
life.  True  wisdom  is  foolishness  with  men.  He  that  will 
be  wise,  must  first  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise.  I 
was  like  a  man  awakened  out  of  sleep,"  he  continues  :  "  I 
was  astonished  ;  I  felt  myself  wrong ;  I  was  conscious  I 
had  been  pursuing  a  vain  shadow,  and  that  God  only  could 
direct  me  into  the  right  path.  I  therefore  applied  to  him 
with  earnest  importunity,  entreating  him  to  show  me  the 
true  way  to  happiness,  which  I  was  determined  to  follow, 
however  difficult  or  dangerous."  Just  at  this  time  Method- 
ism began  to  flourish  in  his  native  village:  his  mother  joined 


GEORGE  STORY. 


51 


the  Society,  and  sent  him  a  message,  entreating  h'lm  to  con- 
verse with  persons  of  this  description.  To  gratify  her,  be- 
ing an  obedient  son,  he  called  accordingly  at  a  Methodist's 
house,  and  the  persons  who  were  assembled  there  went  to 
prayer  with  him,  and  for  him,  a  considerable  time.  The 
result  was,  as  might  be  expected, — he  looked  upon  them 
as  well  meaning,  ignorant  people,  and  thought  no  more 
about  the  matter.  After  a  few  days  they  desired  he  would 
come  again  ;  and  he,  considering  that  it  was  his  mother's 
request,  went  without  hesitation,  though  perhaps  not  very 
desirous  of  being  prayed  for  a  second  time.  On  this  occa- 
sion, however,  argument  was  tried ;  and  he  disputed  with 
them  for  some  hours,  till  they  were  fairly  wearied,  without 
having  produced  the  slightest  impression  upon  him.  To 
attack  him  on  the  side  of  his  reason,  was  not  indeed  the 
way  by  which  such  reasoners  were  likely  to  prevail ;  such 
a  proceeding  would  sei*ve  only  to  stimulate  his  vanity,  and 
provoke  his  pride ;  and  accordingly  he  was  about  to  with- 
draw, not  a  little  elevated  with  the  triumph  which  he  had 
obtained,  when  a  woman  of  the  company  desired  to  ask  him 
a  few  questions.  The  first  was,  "  Are  you  happy  V  His 
countenance  instantly  fell,  and  he  honestly  answered,  "No." 
— "  Are  you  not  desirous  of  finding  happiness  V*  she  pur- 
sued. He  replied,  that  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining  it,  on 
any  terms,  and  had  long  sought  for  it  in  every  way,  but  in 
vain.  She  then  told  him,  that  if  he  sought  the  Lord  with 
all  his  heart,  he  would  certainly  find  in  Him  that  peace  and 
pleasure  which  the  world  could  not  bestow.  The  right 
string  had  now  been  touched  :  every  word  sunk  deep  into 
his  mind;  and  he  says,  that  from  that  moment  he  never  lost 
his  resolution  of  being  truly  devoted  to  God. 

The  books  which  had  misled  him  he  cast  into  the  fire ; 
and  willing  as  he  now  was  to  be  led  astray  in  a  different 
direction,  by  his  new  associates,  his  happy  disposition  pre- 
served him.  Not  having  the  horrible  fears,  and  terrors, 
and  agonies  which  others  declared  they  had  experienced 
in  the  new-birth,  and  of  which  exhibitions  were  frequently 
occurring,  he  endeavored  to  bring  himself  into  the  same 
state,  but  never  could  succeed  in  inducing  these  throes  of 
spiritual  labor.  Yet  thinking  it  a  necessary  part  of  the 
process  of  regeneration,  and  not  feeling  that  consciousness 
of  sanctification  which  his  fellows  professed,  doubts  came 
upon  him  thick  and  thronging.  Sometimes  he  fell  back 
toward  his  old  skepticism  :  sometimes  inclined  to  the  mis- 


52 


GEORGE  STORY. 


erable  notion  of  predestination;  plunging,  as  he  himself 
expresses  it,  into  the  blackness  of  darkness.  He  found  at 
length  the  folly  of  reasoning  himself  into  despair,  and  the 
unreasonableness  of  expecting  a  miraculous 'manifestation 
in  his  own  bodily  feelings;  and  he  learned,  in  the  true  path 
of  Christian  humility,  to  turn  from  all  presumptuous  rea- 
sonings, and,  staying  his  mind  upon  God,  to  repose  and 
trust  in  him  with  a  childlike  entireness  of  belief  and  love. 
This  was  at  first  mortifying  to  his  proud  reason  and  vain 
imagination  ;  but  it  brought  with  it,  at  length,  "  an  ever 
permanent  peace,  which  kept  his  heart  in  the  knowledge 
and  love  of  God  ;"  not  the  overflowing  joys  which  he  ex- 
pected, and  had  been  taught  to  expect,  by  enthusiastic 
men  ;  but  that  peace  which  God  himself  hath  assured  to  all 
who  seek  him  in  humility  and  truth,  and  which  passeth  all 
understanding.  There  is  not,  in  the  whole  hagiography 
of  Methodism,  a  more  interesting  or  more  remarkable  case 
than  this  : — living  among  the  most  enthusiastic  Methodists, 
enrolled  among  them,  and  acting  and  preaching  with  them 
for  more  than  fifty  years,  George  Story  never  became  an  en- 
thusiast :  his  nature  seems  not  to  have  been  susceptible  of 
the  contagion.* 

*  The  instance  of  George  Story,  and  of  many  others,  proves  that  such 
joys,  such  sensible  deliverances,  such  sudden  openings  of  a  before  un- 
known and  glorious  state  of  being,  are  no  essential,  nor  even  regular 
marks,  accompaniments,  or  results  of  a  true  conversion.  It  may  be  ad- 
mitted too,  that  in  such  extraordinary  depths  and  heights,  the  body  and 
nervous  system  may  cooperate — that  the  animal  life  may  furnish  the 
matter  of  the  sensations,  and  the  copula  connecting  the  soul  and  the  life 
may  be  the  seat  of  these  experiences.  But  does  it  follow  that  they  all 
originate  in  fanaticism,  and  are  mere  delusions? — that  such  men  as 
Story  were  alone  in  their  sober  senses ;  though  one  proof  of  their  so- 
briety was,  that  they  did  not  doubt  the  different  experiences  of  other 
Christians,  whose  lives  and  tempers  proved  the  reality  of  their  ^erdvota 
at  least? — and  that  Haliburton,  nay,  that  Paul,  were  mad  or  delirious? 
For  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  circumstances  of  St.  Paul's  conversion, 
yet  his  rapture,  in  which  he  knew  not  whether  he  was  taken  up  into 
the  state  of  glory,  or  that  state  made  present  to  him,  can  not,  in  South- 
ey's  sense  of  the  word,  be  called  a  miracle. 

August,  1825. 

I  do  not  recollect  the  date  of  the  above  note :  but  I  take  no  shame  to 
myself  for  the  mood  in  which  it  must  have  been  written !  For  who, 
that  has  a  heart  at  all,  has  a  heart  of  such  strength  as  not  at  times  to 
sink  down  in  weariness,  and  crave  after  a  resting-place — a  sensation 
of  present  being,  in  lieu  of  the  act  and  conflict  of  faith  ?  On  this  ac- 
count I  am  less  disposed  to  think  meanly  of  Wesley's  judgment  for  his 
first  belief  in  the  reality  of  these  assurances,  and  their  antecedent  birth- 
throes,  while  he  held  them  to  be  the  constant  signs  and  proper  conse- 
quents of  regeneration  in  each  and  e»cry  individual  on  the  reception  of 


GEORGE  STORY. 


53 


a  new  and  divine  life,  as  the  nature  or  supposition  of  his  spiritual  "  I," 
than  to  suspect  his  sincerity  with  his  own  heart,  for  professing  (and,  no 
doubt,  striving^  to  retain  his  belief  of  the  spirituality  and  divine  origin 
of  these  experiences  in  his  first  converts,  after  he  had  abandoned,  nay 
reprobated,  the  supposition  of  their  necessity  and  universality.  This 
wUl  appear  evident  on  the  first  reflection.  If  the  corporeal  sensibiUty 
is  as  insusceptible  of  any  excitement  immediately  from  the  presence  of 
the  spiritual  agent,  as  brass  or  iron  is  of  vital  stimuli,  the  negative  must 
be  universally  true :  but  if  not,  if  there  is  nothing  in  the  transcendencies 
of  the  spiritual  life  and  power  that  prevents  the  bodily  organs  from  par- 
taking in  their  operation,  it  is  to  the  last  degree  improbable  that  so  stu- 
pendous an  agency  should  take  place  without  alfecting  the  body.  It  has 
not  been  noticed,  I  think,  that  this  doctrine  of  sensational  assurances  is 
closely  linked  with  Wesley's  pernicious  doctrine  of  entire  deliverance 
from  sin.  If  the  latter  were  true,  the  radical  life  of  the  body,  and  the 
body  itself,  in  all  its  essential  forms,  must  have  been  acted  on  by  the 
infused  spiritual  life,  and  consequently  have  reacted :  therefore  the 
former  must  likewise  be  true  and  universal.  And  if  the  former  were 
true,  namely,  that  the  higher  and  mightier  power  did  actually  excite 
and  act  on  the  lower,  it  must  have  overcome  it,  and  either  extruded 
or  assimilated  it.  For  such  is  of  necessity  the  result,  where  a  weaker 
or  stronger  power  meet,  both  being  ejusdem  generis.  It  follows,  there- 
fore, that  the  belief  of  these  sensible  assurances  is  not  a  mere  harmless 
fancy  ;  but  partakes  of  the  mischievous  nature  of  Wesley's  heresy  of 
sinless  perfection  in  this  life,  in  as  far  as  the  one  implies  or  presupposes 
the  other.— S.  T.  C. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


PROVISION  FOR  THE  LAY  PREACHERS  AND  THEIR  FAMILIES. 
 KINGS  WOOD  SCHOOL.  THE  CONFERENCE. 

At  first  there  was  no  provision  made  for  the  lay  preach- 
ers. The  enthusiasts  who  offered  themselves  to  the  work 
literally  took  no  thought  for  the  morrow,  what  they  should 
eat,  nor  what  they  should  drink,  nor  yet  for  the  body,  what 
they  should  put  on.  They  trusted  in  Him  who  feedeth  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  who  sent  his  ravens  to  Elijah  in  the 
wilderness.  "  He  who  had  a  staff,"  says  one  of  these  first 
itinerants,  "  might  take  one  ;  he  who  had  none  might  go 
without."  They  were  lodged  and  fed  by  some  of  the  So- 
ciety wherever  they  went ;  and  when  they  wanted  clothes, 
if  they  were  not  supplied  by  individual  friends,  they  repre- 
sented their  necessity  to  the  stewards.  St.  Francis  and 
his  followers  did  not  commit  themselves  with  more  confi- 
dence to  the  care  of  Providence,  nor  with  a  more  entire 
disregard  of  all  human  means.  But  the  Friars  Minorite 
were  marked  by  their  habit  for  privileged  as  well  as  pe- 
culiar persons ;  and  as  they  professed  poverty,  the  poorer 
and  the  more  miserable  their  appearance,  the  greater  was 
the  respect  which  they  obtained  from  the  people.  In  Eng- 
land, rags  were  no  recommendation  ;  and  it  was  found  a 
great  inconvenience  that  the  popular  itinerants  should  be 
clothed  in  the  best  apparel,  while  the  usefulness  of  their 
fellows,  who  were  equally  devoted  to  the  cause,  was  les- 
sened by  the  shabbiness  of  their  appearance.  To  remedy 
this  evil,  it  was  at  length  agreed  that  every  circuit  should 
allow  its  preacher  663  per  quarter,  to  provide  himself  with 
clothing  and  books.  Not  long  after  this  arrangement  had 
been  made,  Mr.  Wesley  proposed  that  Mather  should  go 
with  him  into  Ireland  on  one  of  his  preaching  expeditions, 
and  promised  that  his  wife  should  be  supported  during  his 
absence.  Mather  cheerfully  consented  ;  but  when  he  came 
to  talk  with  his  friends  upon  the  subject,  they  cautioned 
him  to  beware  how  he  relied  for  his  wife's  support  upon  a 


PROVISION  FOR  THE  LAY  PREACHERS,  ETC. 


55 


mere  promise  of  this  kind ;  for,  when  Mr.  Wesley  was 
gone,  the  matter  would  rest  with  the  stewards.  Upon  this, 
Mather  thought  it  necessary  to  talk  with  the  stewards  him- 
self: they  asked  him  how  much  would  be  sufficient  for  his 
wife  ;  and  when  he  said  four  shillings  a-week,  they  thought 
it  more  than  could  be  afforded ;  and  Mather  therefore  re- 
fused to  undertake  the  journey.  However,  in  the  course 
of  the  ensuing  year,  the  necessity  of  making  some  provision 
for  the  wives  of  the  itinerants  was  clearly  perceived,  and 
the  reasonableness  of  Mather's  demand  was  acknowledged. 
He  was  called  upon  to  travel  accordingly;  and  from  that 
time  the  stated  allowance  was  continued  for  very  many 
years  at  the  sum  which  he  had  fixed.  A  further  allowance 
was  made,  of  twenty  shillings  a-quarter,  for  every  child ; 
and  when  a  preacher  was  at  home,  the  wife  was  entitled  to 
eighteen-pence  a-day  for  his  board  ;  the  computation  being 
fourpence  for  breakfast,  sixpence  for  dinner,  and  fourpence 
each  for  tea  and  supper ;  with  the  condition,  that  whenever 
he  was  invited  out,  a  deduction  was  to  be  made  for  the 
meal. 

But  further  relief  was  still  necessary  for  those  married 
preachers  who  gave  themselves  up  wholly  to  the  service 
of  Methodism.  Their  boys,  when  they  grew  too  big  to  be 
under  the  mother's  direction,  were  in  a  worse  state  than 
other  children,  and  were  exposed  to  a  thousand  tempta- 
tions, having  no  father  to  control  and  instruct  them.  "  Was 
it  fit,"  said  Wesley,  that  the  children  of  those  who  leave 
wife,  home,  and  all  that  is  dear,  to  save  souls  from  death, 
should  want  what  is  needful  either  for  soul  or  body  1  Ought 
not  the  Society  to  supply  what  the  parent  could  not,  because 
of  his  labors  in  the  Gospel  1  The  preacher,  eased  of  this 
weight,  would  go  on  the  more  cheerfully,  and  perhaps 
many  of  these  children  might,  in  time,  fill  up  the  place  of 
those  who  should  have  rested  from  their  labors."  The  ob- 
vious remedy  was  to  found  a  school  for  the  sons  of  the 
preachers  ;  and  thinking  that  the  wealthier  members  of  the 
Society  would  rejoice  if  an  opportunity  were  given  them  to 
separate  their  children  from  the  contagion  of  the  world,  he 
seems  to  have  hoped  that  the  expenses  of  the  eleemosynary 
part  of  the  institution  might  in  great  measure  be  defrayed 
by  their  means. 

Some  tracts  upon  education  had  led  him  to  consider  the 
defects  of  English  schools  :  the  mode  of  teaching,  defective 
as  that  is,  he  did  not  regard ;  it  was  the  moral  discipline 


56 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


which  fixed  his  attention;  and  in  founding  a  seminaiy  for 
his  own  people,  whose  steady  increase  he  now  contem- 
plated as  no  longer  doubtful,  he  resolved  to  provide,  as  far 
as  possible,  against  all  the  evils  of  the  existing  institutions. 
The  first  point  was  to  find  a  situation  not  too  far  from  a 
great  rown,  which  would  be  veiy  inconvenient  for  so  large 
a  household  as  he  was  about  to  establish,  nor  yet  too  near, 
and  much  less  in  it.  For  in  towns  the  boys,  whenever  they 
went  abroad,  would  have  too  many  things  to  engage  their 
thoughts,  which  ought,  he  said,  to  be  diverted  as  little  as 
possible  from  the  objects  of  their  learning ;  and  they  would 
have  too  many  other  children  round  about  them,  some  of 
whom  they  were  liable  to  meet  every  day,  whose  example 
would  neither  forward  them  in  learning  nor  in  religion. 
He  chose  a  spot  three  miles  from  Bristol,  in  the  middle  of 
Kingswood,  on  the  side  of  a  small  hill,  sloping  to  the  west, 
sheltered  from  the  east  and  north,  and  affording  room  for 
large  gardens.  At  that  time  it  was  quite  private  and  re- 
mote from  all  highways  :  now  the  turnpike  road  passes 
close  beside  it,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  a  filthy  population. 
He  built  the  house  of  a  size  to  contain  fifty  children,  be- 
side masters  and  servants,  reserving  one  room  and  a  little 
study  for  his  own  use. 

In  looking  for  masters  he  had  the  advantage  of  being 
acquainted  with  every  part  of  the  nation  ;  and  yet  he  found 
it  no  easy  thing  to  procure  such  as  he  desired, — men  of 
competent  acquirements,  "  who  were  truly  devoted  to  God, 
who  sought  nothing  on  earth,  neither  pleasure,  nor  ease, 
nor  profit,  nor  the  praise  of  men."  The  first  rule  respect- 
ing scholars  was,  that  no  child  should  be  admitted  after  he 
was  twelve  years  old  ;  before  that  age,  it  was  thought  he 
could  not  well  be  rooted  either  in  bad  habits  or  ill  princi- 
ples ;  he  resolved  also  not  to  receive  any  that  came  to 
hand  ;  but,  if  possible,  "  only  such  as  had  some  thoughts  of 
God,  and  some  desire  of  saving  their  souls ;  and  such 
whose  parents  desired  they  should  not  be  almost,  but  alto- 
gether Christians."  The  proposed  object  was,  "  to  answer 
the  design  of  Christian  education,  by  framing  their  minds, 
through  the  help  of  God,  to  wdsdom  and  holiness,  by  in- 
stilling the  principles  of  true  religion,  speculative  and  pi'ac- 
tical,  and  training  them  up  in  the  ancient  way,  that  they 
might  be  rational,  scriptural  Christians."  Accordingly  he 
proclaimed,  that  the  children  of  tender  parents  had  no  busi- 
ness there,  and  that  no  child  should  be  received,  unless  his 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


57 


parents  would  agree  that  he  should  observe  all  the  rules  of 
the  house,  and  that  they  would  not  take  him  from  school, 
no,  not  for  a  day,  till  they  took  him  for  good  and  all.  **  The 
reasonableness  of  this  uncommon  rule,"  says  Wesley,  **  is 
shown  by  constant  experience ;  for  children  may  unlearn 
as  much  in  one  week,  as  they  have  learned  in  several ;  nay, 
and  contract  a  prejudice  to  exact  discipline,  which  never 
can  be  removed."  Had  Wesley  been  a  father,  he  would 
have  perceived  that  such  a  rule  is  unreasonable,  and  felt 
that  it  is  abominable  ;  uncommon,  unhappily  it  is  not ;  for 
it  makes  a  part  of  the  Jesuit  establishments,  and  was 
adopted  also  by  Bonaparte,  as  part  of  his  plan  for  training 
up  an  army  of  Mamelukes  in  Europe.  No  rule  could 
better  forward  the  purpose  of  those  who  desire  to  enslave 
mankind. 

The  children  were  to  rise  at  four,  winter  and  summer; 
this,  Wesley  said  he  knew,  by  constant  observation  and  by 
long  experience,  to  be  of  admirable  use,  either  for  preserv- 
ing a  good  or  improving  a  bad  constitution,  and  he  affirmed 
that  it  was  of  peculiar  service  in  almost  all  nervous  com- 
plaints, both  in  preventing  and  in  removing  them.  They 
■were  to  spend  the  time  till  five  in  private,  partly  in  read- 
ing, partly  in  singing,  partly  in  prayer,  and  in  self-exami- 
nation and  meditation,  those  that  were  capable  of  it.  Poor 
boys  !  they  had  better  have  spent  it  in  sleep.  From  five 
till  seven  they  breakfasted  and  walked,  or  worked,  the 
master  being  with  them ;  for  the  master  was  constantly  to 
be  present ;  and  there  were  no  holydays,  and  no  play,  on 
any  day.  Wesley  had  learned  a  sour  German  proverb, 
saying,  "  He  that  plays  when  he  is  a  child,  will  play  when 
he  is  a  man ;"  and  he  had  forgotten  an  English  one,  pro- 
ceeding from  good-nature  and  good  sense,  which  tells  us 
by  what  kind  of  discipline  Jack  may  be  made  a  dull  boy  : 
"  Why,"  he  asks,  "  should  he  learn,  now,  what  he  must 
unlearn  by  and  by  V  Why  1  for  the  same  reason  that  he 
is  fed  with  milk  when  a  suckling,  because  it  is  the  food 
convenient  for  him.  They  were  to  work  in  fair  weather, 
according  to  their  strength,  in  the  garden  ;  on  rainy  days, 
in  the  house,  always  in  presence  of  a  master ;  for  they  were 
never,  day  or  night,  to  be  alone.  This  part  of  his  sys- 
tem, Wesley  adopted  from  the  great  school  at  Jena,  in 
Saxony;  it  is  the  practice  of  Catholic  schools,  and  may, 
perhaps,  upon  a  comparison  of  evils,  be  better  than  the 
opposite  extreme,  which  leaves  the  boys,  during  the  greater 


58 


KlNGSWOCD  SCHOOL. 


part  of  their  time,  wholly  without  superintendence.  At  a 
great  expense  of  instinct  and  enjoyment,  and  of  that  freedom 
of  character,  without  which  the  best  character  can  only 
obtain  from  us  a  cold  esteem,  it  gets  rid  of  much  vice,  much 
cruelty,  and  much  unhappiness.  The  school-hours  were 
from  seven  to  eleven,  and  from  one  to  five  ;  eight  was  the 
hour  for  going  to  bed ;  they  slept  in  one  dormitory,  each 
in  a  separate  bed  ;  a  master  lay  in  the  same  room,  and  a 
lamp  was  kept  burning  there.  Their  food  was  as  simple 
as  possible,  and  two  days  in  the  week  no  meat  was  al- 
lowed. 

The  things  to  be  taught  there  make  a  formidable  cata- 
logue in  the  founder's  plan  :  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  ; 
English,  French,  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew;  history,  geogra- 
phy, chronology,  rhetoric,  logic,  ethics,  geometry,  algebra; 
natural  philosophy,  and  metaphysics.  No  Roman  author 
was  to  be  read,  who  had  lived  later  than  the  Augustan 
age,  except  certain  selections  from  Juvenal,  Persius,  and 
Martial.  This  was  carrying  classical  pui-itanism  to  an  ex- 
treme ;  and  it  indicates  no  very  sound  judgment  that 
Wesley  should  have  preferred  a  few  of  the  modern  Latin 
writers  to  supply  the  place  of  those  whom  he  rejected. 
The  classics  which  were  retained  were  to  be  carefully  ex- 
purgated :  there  had  been  a  time  when  he  was  for  inter- 
dicting them  altogether,  as  improper  to  be  used  in  the  ed- 
ucation of  Christian  youth,  but  this  folly  he  had  long 
outgrown. 

He  was  enabled  to  establish  the  school  by  the  bounty  of 
Lady  Maxwell,  one  of  his  few  converts  in  high  life.  She 
was  of  the  family  of  the  Brisbanes,  in  Ayrshire  ;  was  mar- 
ried to  Sir  Walter  Maxwell  at  the  age  of  seventeen ;  at 
nineteen  was  left  a  widow;  and,  six  weeks  after  the  death 
of  her  husband,  lost  her  son  and  only  child.  From-  that 
hour  she  was  never  known  to  mention  either.  Weaned 
from  the  world  by  these  severe  dispensations,  she  looked 
for  comfort  to  Him  who  giveth  and  who  taketh  away ;  and 
what  little  of  her  diary  has  appeared,  shows  more  of  high 
enthusiastic  devotion,  unmingled  and  undebased,  than  is  to 
be  found  in  any  other  composition  of  the  kind.  She  used 
to  say,  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Methodists,  she  should 
never  have  had  those  enjoyments  in  religion  to  which  she 
had  attained  ;  because  it  is  seldom  or  never  that  we  go  far- 
ther than  our  instructors  teach  us.  It  was,  however,  many 
years  before  she  formally  joined  them,  and  she  never  for- 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


50 


sook  the  Church  of  Scotland.  She  lived  to  be  the  oldest 
member  of  the  Society.  The  school  was  founded  long  be- 
fore she  became  a  member ;  but  Wesley  had  no  sooner 
mentioned  his  design  to  her,  than  she  presented  him  with 
bank  notes  to  the  amount  of  <£500,  and  told  him  to  begin 
immediately.  After  some  time  she  asked  how  the  building 
was  going  on,  and  whether  he  stood  in  need  of  further  as- 
sistance ;  and  hearing  that  a  debt  of  c£300  had  been  incur- 
red, though  he  desired  that  she  would  not  consider  herself 
under  any  obligation  in  the  business,  she  immediately  gave 
him  the  whole  sum. 

The  school  was  opened  in  1748  ;  in  two  or  three  months 
there  were  twenty-eight  scholars,  notwithstanding  the  strict- 
ness of  the  discipline  ;  and  so  little  was  economy  in  educa- 
tion understood  in  those  days,  that  there  was  an  establish- 
ment of  six  masters  for  them.  "  From  the  very  beginning," 
says  Wesley,  "  I  met  with  all  sorts  of  discouragements. 
Cavilers,  and  prophets  of  evil,  were  on  eveiy  side.  A 
hundred  objections  were  made,  both  to  the  whole  design 
and  every  particular  branch  of  it,  especially  by  those  from 
whom  I  had  reason  to  expect  better  things.  Notwith- 
standing which,  through  God's  help,  I  went  on  ;  wrote  an 
English,  a  Latin,  a  Greek,  a  Hebrew,  and  a  French  gram- 
mar ;  and  printed  PrcBlectiones  Pueriles,  with  many  other 
books,  for  the  use  of  the  school."  In  making  his  grammars, 
Wesley  rejected  much  of  the  rubbish  with  which  such  books 
are  incumbered ;  they  might  have  been  simplified  still 
further ;  but  it  was  reserved  for  Dr.  Bell,  the  friend  of  chil- 
dren, to  establish  the  principle  in  education,  that  every  les- 
son should  be  made  perfectly  intelligible  to  the  child. 

Upon  visiting  the  school  a  year  after  its  establishment, 
he  found  that  several  rules  had  been  habitually  neglected ; 
and  he  judged  it  necessary  to  send  away  some  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  suffer  none  to  remain  who  were  not  clearly  sat- 
isfied with  them,  and  determined  to  observe  them  all.  By 
the  second  year  the  scholars  had  been  reduced  from  twen- 
ty-eight to  eighteen ;  it  is  marvelous,  indeed,  that  any  but 
the  sons  of  the  preachers  should  have  remained ;  that  any 
parents  should  have  suffered  their  children  to  be  bred  up 
in  a  manner  which  would  inevitably,  in  ninety-nine  cases 
out  of  a  hundred,  either  disgust  them  with  religion,  or 
make  them  hypocrites.  "  I  wonder,"  says  he,  **  how  I  am 
withheld  from  dropping  the  whole  design,  so  many  difficul- 
ties have  continually  attended  it ;  yet  if  this  counsel  19  of 


60 


THE  CONFEEENCE. 


God,  it  shall  stand,  and  all  binderances  shall  turn  into  bless- 
ings." The  house  was  in  a  state  of  complete  anarchy. 
One  of  the  masters  was  so  rough  and  disobliging,  that  the 
children  were  little  profited  by  him ;  a  second,  though 
honest  and  diligent,  was  rendered  contemptible  by  his 
person-  and  manner;  the  third  had  been  useful,  till  the 
fourth  set  the  boys  against  him ;  and  the  two  others  were 
weighed  down  by  the  rest,  who  neither  observed  the  rules 
in  the  school  nor  out  of  it.  To  crown  all,  the  housekeeper 
neglected  her  duty,  being  taken  up  with  thoughts  of  another 
kind  ;  and  the  four  maids  were  divided  into  two  parties. 
This  pitiful  case  he  published  for  the  information  of  the 
Society,  and  cut  down  the  establishment  to  two  masters,  a 
housekeeper,  and  a  maid.  Two  of  the  elder  boys  were  dis- 
missed as  incorrigible,  out  of  four  or  five  who  were  "  very 
uncommonly  wicked"  (a  very  uncommon  proportion  of 
wicked  boys  out  of  eighteen),  and  five  more  soon  went 
away.  Still  it  went  on  badly  :  four  years  afterward  he 
speaks  of  endeavoring  once  more  to  bring  it  into  order. 
"Surely,"  he  says,  "the  importance  of  this  design  is  appa- 
]  ent,  even  from  the  difficulties  that  attend  it.  I  spent  more 
money,  and  time,  and  care  on  this  than  almost  any  design  I 
ever  had,  and  still  it  exercises  all  the  patience  I  have.  But 
it  is  worth  all  the  labor." 

Provision  had  thus  been  made  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  preachers'  families,  and  the  education  of  their  sons.  A 
Conference,  to  which  Wesley,  in  the  year  1744,  invited  his 
brother  Charles,  four  other  clergymen,  who  cooperated 
with  him,  and  four  of  his  lay  preachers,  was  from  that  time 
held  annually,  and  became  the  general  assembly,  in  which 
the  affairs  of  the  Society  were  examined  and  determined. 
They  began  their  first  meeting  by  recording  their  desire, 
"  that  all  things  might  be  considered  as  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  God ;  that  they  might  meet  with  a  single  eye, 
and  as  little  children  who  had  every  thing  to  learn ;  that 
every  point  which  was  proposed  might  be  examined  to  the 
foundation  ;  that  every  person  might  speak  freely  whatever 
was  in  his  heart ;  and  that  every  question  which  might 
arise  should  be  thoroughly  debated  and  settled."  There 
was  no  reason,  they  said,  to  be  afraid  of  doing  this,  lest 
they  should  overturn  their  first  principles ;  for  if  they  were 
false,  the  sooner  they  were  overturned  the  better ;  if  they 
were  true,  they  would  bear  the  strictest  examination.  They 
determined,  in  the  intermediate  hours  of  this  Conference, 


THE  CONFERENCE. 


61 


to  visit  none  but  the  sick,  and  to  spend  all  the  time  that  re- 
mained in  retirement ;  giving  themselves  to  prayer  for  one 
another,  and  for  a  blessing  upon  this  their  labor.  With  re- 
gard to  the  judgment  of  the  majority,  they  agreed  that,  in 
speculative  things,  each  could  only  submit  so  far  as  his 
judgment  should  be  convinced  ;  and  that,  in  every  practi- 
cal point,  each  would  submit,  so  far  as  he  could,  without 
wounding  his  conscience.  Farther  than  this,  they  main- 
tained, a  Christian  could  not  submit  to  any  man  or  number 
of  men  upon  earth ;  either  to  council,  bishop,  or  convoca- 
tion. And  this  was  that  grand  principle  of  private  judg- 
ment on  which  all  the  reformers  proceeded.  **  Every  man 
must  judge  for  himself ;  because  every  man  must  give  an 
account  for  himself  to  God."  But  this  principle,  if  followed 
to  its  full  extent,  is  as  unsafe  and  untenable  as  the  opposite 
extreme  of  the  Romanists.  The  design  of  this  meeting 
was,  to  consider  what  to  teach,  how  to  teach,  and  what  to 
do ;  in  other  words,  how  to  regulate  their  doctrines,  disci- 
pline, and  practice.  Here,  therefore,  it  will  be  convenient 
to  present  a  connected  account  of  each. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 

Wesley  never  departed  willingly  or  knowingly  from 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  which  he  had 
been  trained  up.  and  with  which  he  was  conscientiously 
satisfied,  after  full  and  free  inquiry.  Upon  points  which 
have  not  been  revealed,  but  are  within  the  scope  of  reason, 
he  formed  opinions  for  himself,  which  were  generally  clear, 
consistent  with  the  Christian  system,  and  creditable,  for 
the  most  part,  both  to  his  feelings  and  his  judgment.  But 
he  laid  no  stress  upon  them,  and  never  proposed  them  for 
more  than  they  were  worth.  In  the  following  connected 
view  of  his  scheme,  care  has  been  taken  to  preserve  his 
own  words,  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  sake  of  fidelity.* 

»  It  is  matter  of  earnest  thought  and  deep  concernment  to  me — and 
he  little  knows  my  heart  who  shall  find  the  spirit  of  authorship  in  what 
I  am  about  to  say — to  think  that  thousands  will  read  this  chapter,  or 
the  substance  of  it,  in  the  writings  of  Wesley  himself,  and  never  com- 
plain of  obscurity,  or  that  it  is,  as  Hone  called  my  "  Aids  to  Reflection," 
a  proper  brain-cracker.  And  why  is  this  ?  In  the  words  I  use,  or 
their  collocation  ?  Not  so :  for  no  one  has  pointed  out  any  passage  of 
importance,  which  he  having  at  length  understood,  he  could  propose 
other  and  more  intelligible  words  that  would  have  conveyed  precisely 
the  same  meaning.  No !  Wesley  first  relates  his  theory  as  a  history : 
the  ideas  were  for  him,  and  through  him  for  his  readers,  so  many  proper 
names,  the  substratum  of  meaning  being  supplied  by  the  general  image 
and  abstraction,  of  the  human  form  with  the  swarm  of  associations  that 
cluster  in  it.  Wesley  takes  for  granted  that  his  readers  will  all  under- 
stand it,  all  at  once,  and  without  effort.  The  readers  are  far  too  well 
pleased  with  this,  or  rather,  this  procedure  is  far  too  much  in  accord 
both  with  their  mental  indolence  and  their  self-complacency,  that  they 
should  think  of  asking  themselves  the  question.  Reflect  on  the  simple 
fact  of  the  state  of  a  child's  mind  while  with  great  delight  he  reads  or 
listens  to  the  story  of  Jack  and  the  Bean  Stalk  !  How  could  this  be, 
if  in  some  sense  he  did  not  understand  it  ?  Yea,  the  child  does  under- 
stand  each  part  of  it — A,  and  B,  and  C  ;  but  not  A  B  C  =  X.  He  un- 
derstands it  as  we  all  understand  our  dreams,  while  we  are  dreaming — 
each  shape  and  incident,  or  group  of  shapes  and  incidents,  by  itself — 
unconscious  of,  and  therefore  unotTended  at,  the  absence  of  the  logical 
copula,  or  the  absurdity  of  the  transitions.  He  understands  it,  in  short, 
as  the  READING  PUBLIC  Understands  this  exposition  of  Wesley's  theology. 


WESLEY*S  DOCTRINES  AND  OPINIONS. 


63 


The  moral,  or,  as  he  sometimes  calls  it,  the  Adamic  law, 
he  traced  beyond  the  foundation  of  the  world,  to  that  pe- 
riod, unknown  indeed  to  men,  but  doubtless  enrolled  in 
the  annals  of  eternity,  when  the  morning  stars  first  sung 

Now  compare  this  with  the  manner,  and  even  obtruded  purpose  of  the 
"  Friend,"  oi:  the  "  Aids  to  Reflection,"  in  which  the  aim  of  every  sentence 
is  to  solicit,  nay,  tease  the  reader  to  ask  himself,  whether  he  actually  does, 
or  does  not,  understand  distinctly  1 — whether  he  has  reflected  on  the 
precise  meaning  of  the  word,  however  familiar  it  may  be  both  to  his  ear 
and  mouth? — whether  he  has  been  hitherto  aware  of  the  mischief  and 
folly  of  employing  words  on  questions,  to  know  the  very  truth  of  which 
is  both  his  interest  and  his  duty,  without  fixing  the  one  meaning  which 
on  that  question  they  are  to  represent?  Page  after  page,  for  a  reader 
accustomed  from  childhood  either  to  learn  by  rote,  i.  e.,  without  under- 
standing at  all,  as  boys  learn  their  Latin  grammar,  or  to  content  him- 
self with  the  popular  use  of  words,  always  wide  and  general,  and  ex- 
pressing a  whole  county  where  perhaps  the  point  in  discussion  con- 
cerns the  difference  between  two  parishes  of  the  same  county  !  (ear.  gr., 
MIND,  which  in  the  popular  use  means,  sometimes  memory,  sometimes 
reason,  sometimes  understanding,  sometimes  sense  {aladrjaLg),  some- 
times inclination,  and  sometimes  all  together,  confusedly,) — for  such  a 
reader,  I  repeat,  page  after  page  is  a  process  of  mortification  and  awk- 
ward straining.  Will  any  one  instruct  me  how  this  is  to  be  remedied  1 
Will  he  refer  me  to  any  work,  already  published,  which  has  achieved 
the  objects  at  which  I  aim,  without  exciting  the  same  complaints  ? 
But  then  I  should  wish  my  friendly  monitor  to  show  me,  at  the  same 
time,  some  one  of  these  uncomplaining  readers,  and  convince  me  that 
he  is  actually  master  of  the  truth  contained  in  that  work — be  it  Plato's, 
Bacon's  or  Bull's  or  Waterland's.  Alas !  alas  !  with  a  poor,  illiterate, 
but  conscience-stricken,  or  soul-awakened  Haime,  or  Pawson,  I  should 
find  few  difficulties  beyond  those  that  are  the  price  of  all  momentous 
knowledge.  For  while  I  was  demonstrating  the  inner  structure  of  our 
spiritual  organisms,  he  would  have  his  mental  eye  fixed  on  the  same 
subject,  i.  e.,  his  own  mind;  even  as  an  anatomist  may  be  dissecting  a 
human  eye,  and  the  pupils  too  far  off"  to  see  this,  may  yet  be  dissecting 
another  eye,  closely  following  the  instructions  of  the  lecturer,  and  com- 
paring his  words  with  the  shapes  and  textures  which  the  knife  discloses 
to  them.  But  in  the  great  majority  of  our  gentry,  and  of  our  classically 
educated  clergy,  there  is  a  fearful  combination  of  the  sensuous  and  the 
unreal.  Whatever  is  subjective,  the  true  and  only  proper  novmenon,  or 
intelligibile,  is  unintelligible  to  them.  But  all  substance  ipso  nomine  is 
necessarily  subjective ;  and  what  these  men  call  reality,  is  object  un- 
souled  of  all  subject;  of  course,  an  appearance  only,  which  becomes 
connected  with  the  sense  of  reality  by  its  being  common  to  any  num- 
ber of  beholders  present  at  the  same  moment ;  but  an  apparitio  commu- 
nis is  still  but  an  apparition,  and  can  be  substantiated  for  each  individ- 
ual only  by  his  attributing  a  subject  thereto,  as  its  support  and  causa 
sufficiens,  even  as  the  community  of  the  appearance  is  the  sign  and  pre- 
sumptive proof  of  its  objectivity.  In  short,  I  would  fain  bring  the  cause 
I  am  pleading  to  a  short  and  simple,  yet  decisive  test.  Consciousness, 
eifit,  mind,  life,  will,  body,  organ  ^  machine,  nature,  spirit,  sin,  habit, 
sense,  understanding,  reason  :  here  are  fourteen  words.  Have  you  ever 
reflectively  and  quietly  asked  yourself  the  meaning  of  any  one  of  these, 


64 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


together,  being  newly  called  into  existence.  It  pleased 
the  Creator  to  make  these  His  first-bom  sons  intelligent 
beings,  that  they  might  know  Him  who  created  them.  For 
this  end  he  endued  them  with  understanding  to  discern 
truth  from  falsehood,  good  from  evil ;  and,  as  a  necessary 
result  of  this,  with  liberty, — a  capacity  of  choosing  the  one, 
and  refusing  the  other.  By  this  they  were  likewise  enabled 
to  offer  Him  a  free  and  willing  service ;  a  service  reward- 
able  in  itself,  as  well  as  most  acceptable  to  their  gracious 
Master.  The  law  which  He  gave  them  was  a  complete 
model  of  all  truth,  so  far  as  was  intelligible  to  a  finite  be- 
ing; and  of  all  good,  so  far  as  angelic  natures  were  capable 
of  embracing  it.  And  it  was  His  design  herein  to  make 
way  for  a  continued  increase  of  their  happiness,  seeing 
every  instance  of  obedience  to  that  law  would  both  add  to 
the  perfection  of  their  nature,  and  entitle  them  to  a  higher 
reward,  which  the  righteous  Judge  would  give  in  its  season. 
In  like  manner,  when  God,  in  His  appointed  time,  had 
created  a  new  order  of  intelligent  beings — when  He  had 
raised  man  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  breathed  into  him 
the  breath  of  life,  and  caused  him  to  become  a  living  soul. 
He  gave  to  this  free  intelligent  creature  the  same  law  as 
to  his  first-born  children ;  not  written,  indeed,  upon  tables 
of  stone,  or  any  corruptible  substance,  but  engraven  on  his 
heart  by  the  finger  of  God,  written  in  the  inmost  spirit, 
both  of  men  and  angels,  to  the  intent  it  might  never  be 
afar  off,  never  hard  to  be  understood,  but  always  at  hand, 
and  always  shining  with  clear  light,  even  as  the  sun  in  the 
midst  of  heaven.  Such  was  the  original  of  the  law  of  God. 
With  regard  to  man,  it  was  coeval  with  his  nature ;  but 

and  tasked  yourself  to  return  the  answer  in  distinct  terms,  not  applica- 
ble to  any  one  of  the  other  words  ?  Or  have  you  contented  yourself 
with  the  vague,  floating  meaning,  that  will  just  serve  to  save  you  from 
absurdity  in  the  use  of  the  word,  just  as  the  clown's  botany  would  do, 
who  knew  that  potatoes  were  roots,  and  cabbages  greens  ?  Or,  if  you 
have  the  gift  of  wit,  shelter  yourself  under  Augustin's  equivocation, 
"  I  know  it  perfectly  well  till  I  am  asked."  Know  ?  Ay,  as  an  oyster 
knows  its  life.  But  do  you  know  your  knowledge  ?  If  the  latter  be 
your  case,  can  you  wonder  that  the  **  Aids  to  Reflection"  are  clouds  and 
darkness  for  you  ? — S.  T.  C. 

[The  cause  of  the  obscurity  of  Wesley's  doctrine,  complained  of  by 
Coleridge,  may  be  explained  by  one  short  passage  of  Scripture,  viz. : 
"  At  that  time  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth,  because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  vnse 
and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes." — Matt ,  xi.,  25.— 
Ain.Ed-l 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  65 


with  regard  to  the  elder  sons  of  God,  it  shone  in  its  full 
splendor,  "  or  ever  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or 
the  earth,  and  the  round  world  were  made." 
'  Man  was  made  holy,  as  He  that  created  him  is  holy : 
perfect,  as  his  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  As  God  is 
love,  so  man,  dwelling  in  love,  dwelt  in  God,  and  God  in 
him.  God  made  him  to  be  an  image  of  his  own  eternity. 
To  man,  thus  perfect,  God  gave  a  perfect  law,  to  which 
He  required  full  and  perfect  obedience  in  every  point.  No 
allowance  was  made  for  any  falling  short :  there  was  no 
need  of  any,  man  being  altogether  equal  to  the  task  assign- 
ed him.  Man  disobeyed  this  law,  and  from  that  moment 
he  died.  God  had  told  him,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
of  that  fruit  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Accordingly,  on  that 
day  he  did  die  :  he  died  to  God,  the  most  dreadful  of  all 
deaths.  He  lost  the  life  of  God  :  he  was  separated  from 
Him  in  union  with  whom  his  spiritual  life  consisted.  His 
soul  died.  The  body  dies  when  it  is  separated  from  the 
soul ;  the  soul,  when  it  is  separated  from  God  :  but  this 
separation  Adam  sustained  in  the  day,  the  hour,  when  he 
ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  The  threat  can  not  be  under- 
stood of  temporal  death,  without  impeaching  the  veracity 
of  God.  It  must,  therefore,  be  understood  of  spiritual 
death,  the  loss  of  the  life  and  image  of  God.  His  body 
likewise  became  corruptible  and  mortal;  and  being  already 
dead  in  the  spirit,  dead  to  God,  dead  in  sin,  he  hastened 
on  to  death  everlasting,  to  the  destruction  both  of  body  and 
soul,  in  the  fire  never  to  be  quenched. 

Why  was  this  ]  Why  are  there  sin  and  misery  in  the 
world  ]  Because  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God : 
because  he  is  not  mere  matter,  a  clod  of  earth,  a  lump  of 
clay,  without  sense  or  understanding,  but  a  spirit,  like  his 
Creator ;  a  being  endued  not  only  with  sense  and  under- 
standing, but  also  with  a  will.  Because,  to  crown  the  rest, 
he  was  endued  with  liberty,  a  power  of  directing  his  own 
affections  and  actions,  a  capacity  of  determining  for  him- 
self, or  of  choosing  good  or  evil.  Had  not  man  been  en- 
dued with  this,  all  the  rest  would  have  been  of  no  use. 
Had  he  not  been. a  free,  as  well  as  an  intelligent  being,  his 
understanding  would  have  been  as  incapable  of  holiness, 
or  any  kind  of  virtue,  as  a  tree  or  a  block  of  marble.  And 
having  this  power  of  choosing  good  or  evil,  he  chose  evil. 
But  in  Adam  all  died,  and  this  was  the  natural  consequence 
of  his  fall.    He  was  more  than  the  representative,  or  fed- 


66 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


eral  head,  of  the  human  race, — the  seed  and  souls*  of  all 
mankind  were  contained  in  him,  and  therefore  partook  of 
the  corruption  of  his  nature.  From  that  time  every  man 
who  is  born  into  the  world  bears  the  image  of  the  devil,  in 
pride  and  self-will, — the  image  of  the  beast,  in  sensual  ap- 
petites and  desires.  All  his  posterity  were,  by  this  act  and 
deed,  entitled  to  eiTor,  guilt,  sorrow,  fear,  pain,  disease, 
and  death,  and  these  they  have  inherited  for  their  portion. 
The  cause  has  been  revealed  to  us,  and  the  effects  are  seen 
over  the  whole  world,  and  felt  in  the  heart  of  every  indi- 
vidual. But  this  is  no  ways  inconsistent  with  the  justice 
and  goodness  of  God,  because  all  may  recover,  through 
the  second  Adam,  whatever  they  lost  through  the  first. 
Not  one  child  of  man  finally  loses  thereby,  unless  by  his 
own  choice.  A  remedy  has  been  provided,  which  is  ade- 
quate to  the  disease.  Yea,  more  than  this,  mankind  have 
gained,  by  the  fall,  a  capacity,  first,  of  being  more  holy  and 
happy  on  earth ;  and,  secondly,  of  being  more  happy  in 
heaven  than  otherwise  they  could  have  been.t  For  if  man 
had  not  fallen,  there  must  have  been  a  blank  in  our  faith 
and  in  our  love.  There  could  have  been  no  such  thing  as 
faith  in  God  "  so  loving  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
Son  for  us  men,  and  for  our  salvation  ;"  no  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God,  as  loving  us,  and  giving  himself  for  us ;  no  faith  in 
the  Spirit  of  God,  as  renewing  the  image  of  God  in  our 
hearts,  or  raising  us  from  the  death  of  sin  unto  the  life  of 
righteousness.  And  the  same  blank  must  likewise  have 
been  in  our  love.  We  could  not  have  loved  the  Father 
under  the  nearest  and  dearest  relation,  as  delivering  up  his 
Son  for  us  :  we  could  not  have  loved  the  Son,  as  bearing 
our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  and  by  that  one 
oblation  of  himself,  once  offered,  making  a  full  oblation, 
sacrifice,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  : 
we  could  not  have  loved  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  revealing  to 
us  the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  opening  the  eyes  of  our 

*  [Not  the  souls;  Wesley  never  taught  this;  but  that  each  individ- 
ual of  the  human  race,  though  derived  from  a  common  stock,  has  a  per- 
sonal being,  that  is,  is  a  soul,  only  after  his  derivation  from  the  parent 
stock. — Am.  Ed.'\ 

t  [We  can  see  certain  privileges  apparently  pecuhar  to  our  redeemed 
estate,  but  w^e  are  not  certain  that  there  may  not  have  been  privileges 
of  equal  value  peculiar  to  man's  original  state  of  purity.  The  whole 
subject  lies  rather  beyond  the  limits  of  clear  revelation,  w^here  specu- 
lations must  necessarily  be  without  authority,  and  are  generally  incor- 
rect in  their  results. — Am..  Ed."] 


WESLEv'rf  DOCTRINES  AND   OPINIONS.  G7 

understandings,  bringing  us  ou^  of  darkness  into  his  mar- 
velous light,  renewing  the  image  of  God  in  our  soul,*  and 
sealing  us  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  So  that  what  is 
now,  in  the  sight  of  God,  pure  religion  and  undefiled, 
would  then  have  had  no  being. 

The  fall  of  man  is  the  very  foundation  of  revealed  reli- 
gion. If  this  be  taken  away,  the  Christian  system  is  sub- 
verted ;  nor  will  it  deserve  so  honorable  an  appellation  as 
that  of  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  It  is  a  scriptural  doc- 
trine :  many  plain  texts  directly  teach  it.  It  is  a  rational 
doctrine,  thoroughly  consistent  with  sound  reason,  though 
there  may  be  some  circumstances  relating  to  it  which 
human  reason  can  not  fathom.  It  is  a  practical  doctrine, 
having  the  closest  connection  with  the  life,  power,  and 
practice  of  religion.  It  leads  man  to  the  foundation  of  all 
Christian  practice,  the  knowledge  of  himself,  and  thereby 
to  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Christ  crucified.  It  is  an 
experimental  doctrine.  The  sincere  Christian  carries  the 
proof  of  it  in  his  own  bosom.  Thus  Wesley  reasoned  ; 
and,  from  the  corruption  of  man's  nature,  or,  in  his  own 
view  of  the  doctrine,  from  the  death  of  the  soul,  he  inferred 
the  necessity  of  a  New  Birth.t  He  had  made  that  expres- 
sion obnoxious  in  the  season  of  his  enthusiasm,  and  it  was 
one  of  those  things  which  embarrassed  him  in  his  sober 
and  maturer  years ;  but  he  had  committed  himself  too  far 
to  retract ;  and  therefore  when  he  saw,  and  in  his  own  cool 
judgment  disapproved,  the  extravagances  to  which  the 
abuse  of  the  term  had  led,  he  still  continued  to  use  it,  and 
even  pursued  the  metaphor  through  all  its  bearings,  with  a 
w^antonness  of  ill  directed  fancy,  of  which  this  is  the  only 
instance  in  all  his  writings.f  And  in  attempting  to  recon- 
cile the  opinion  which  he  held  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  he  entangled  himself  in  contradictions,!  like  a  man 
catching  at  all  arguments,  when  defending  a  cause  which 
he  knows  to  be  weak  and  untenable. 

♦  [See  Appendix,  Note  III.— Am.  Ed.] 
t  [See  Appendix,  Note  IV. — Am.  Ed.] 

X  [He  certainly  had  good  company  in  the  folly  of  his  choice  of  terms, 
as  well  as  in  his  "  wantonness  of  ill  directed  fancy,"  for  this  metaphor 
is  more  frequently  employed  in  the  New  Testament,  than  any  other. 
As  to  his  "  contradictions,"  his  nearest  approaches  to  them  were  made 
by  his  endeavoring  to  reconcile  the  semi-Romanism  of  the  Church  of 
England  with  the  evangelical  truths  that  he  had  learned  from  the  New 
Testament. — Am.  Ed.] 

$  [See  Appendix,  Note  V. — Am.  Ed.] 


68 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opixions. 


Connected  with  his  doctrine  of  the  New  Birth  was  that 
of  Justification,  which  he  affirmed  to  be  inseparable  from 
it,  yet  easily  to  be  distinguished,  as  being  not  the  same,  but 
of  a  widely  different  nature.  In  order  of  time,  neither  of 
these  is  before  the  other:  in  the  moment  we  are  justified 
by  the  grace  of  God,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Jesus,  we  are  also  born  of  the  Spirit;  but  in  order  of 
thinking,  as  it  is  termed,  Justification  precedes  the  New 
Birth.  We  first  conceive  his  wrath  to  be  turned  away, 
and  then  his  Spirit  to  work  in  our  hearts.  Justification 
implies  only  a  relative,  the  New  Birth  a  real  change.  God 
in  justifying  us,  does  something  for  us ;  in  begetting  us 
again.  He  does  the  work  in  us.  The  former  changes  our 
outward  relation  to  God,  so  that  of  enemies  we  become 
children.  By  the  latter,  our  inmost  souls  are  changed,  so 
that  of  sinners  we  become  saints.  The  one  restores  us  to 
the  favor,  the  other  to  the  image,  of  God.  Justification  is 
another  word  for  pardon.  It  is  the  forgiveness  of  all  our 
sins,  and,  what  is  necessarily  implied  therein,  our  accept- 
ance with  God.  The  immediate  effects  are,  the  peace  of 
God, — a  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding ;  and  a 
*'  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory."  And  at  the  same  time  that  we  are 
justified,  yea,  in  that  very  moment,  sanctification  begins. 
In  that  instant  we  are  born  again ;  and  when  we  are  bom 
again,  then  our  sanctification  begins,  and  thenceforward  we 
are  gradually  to  *'  grow  up  in  Him  who  is  our  head."  This 
expression,  says  Wesley,  points  out  the  exact  analogy  there 
is  between  natural  and  spiritual  things.  A  child  is  born 
of  a  woman  in  a  moment,  or,  at  least,  in  a  very  short  time. 
Afterward,  he  gradually  and  slowly  grows  till  he  attains  to 
the  stature  of  a  man.  In  like  manner  a  person  is  born  of 
God  in  a  short  time,  if  not  in  a  moment ;  but  it  is  by  slow 
degrees  that  he  afterward  grows  up  to  the  measure  of  the 
full  stature  of  Chiist.  The  same  relation,  therefore,  which 
there  is  between  our  natural  birth  and  our  growth,  there  is 
also  between  our  New  Birth  and  our  Sanctification.  And 
sanctification,  though  in  some  degree  the  immediate  fruit 
of  justification,  is  a  distinct  gift  of  God,  and  of  a  totally 
different  nature.  The  one  implies  what  God  does  for  us 
through  his  Son;  the  other,  what  he  works  in  us  by  his 
Spirit.  Men  are  no  more  able,  of  themselves,  to  think  one 
good  thought,  to  speak  one  good  word,  or  do  one  good 
work,  after  justification,  than  before  they  were  justified. 


WESLEv'd  DOCTRINES  AND  OPINIONd.  CO 

When  the  Lord  speaks  to  our  hearts  the  second  time,  *  Be 
clean,'''  then  only  the  evil  root,  the  carnal  mind,  is  de- 
stroyed, and  sin  subsists  no  more.  A  deep  conviction,  that 
there  is  yet  in  us  a  carnal  mind,  shows,  beyond  all  possibil- 
ity of  doubt,  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  further  change.  If 
there  be  no  such  second  change,  if  there  be  no  instantane- 
ous deliverance  after  justification,  if  there  be  none  but  a 
gradual  work  of  God,  then  we  must  be  content,  as  well  as 
we  can,  to  remain  full  of  sin  till  death;  and  if  so,  we  must 
remain  guilty  till  death,  continually  deserving  punishment. 
Thus  Wesley  explains  a  doctrine  which,  in  his  old  age,  he 
admitted  that  he  did  not  find  a  profitable  subject  for  an 
unawakened  congregation.* 

This  deliverance,  he  acknowledged,  might  be  gradually 
wrought  in  some.  I  mean,  he  says,  in  this  sense,  they  do 
not  advert  to  the  particular  moment  wherein  sin  ceases  to 
be.  But  it  is  infinitely  desirable,  were  it  the  will  of  God, 
that  it  should  be  done  instantaneously;  that  the  Lord  should 
destroy  sin  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  And 
so  he  generally  does.  This,  Wesley  insisted,  was  a  plain 
fact,  of  which  there  was  evidence  enough  to  satisfy  any 
unprejudiced  person.  And  why  might  it  not  be  instanta- 
neous %  he  argued.t  A  moment  is  to  Him  the  same  as  a 
thousand  years.  He  can  not  want  more  time  to  accomplish 
whatever  is  his  will  :  and  he  can  not  wait  or  stay  for  more 
worthiness  or  fitness  in  the  persons  he  is  pleased  to  honor. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  doctrine  and  of  its  evi- 
dence, it  was  a  powerful  one  in  Wesley's  hands.  To  the 
confidence,  he  says  that  God  is  both  able  and  willing  to 
sanctify  us  now:  there  needs  to  be  added  one  thing  more,  a 
divine  evidence  and  conviction  that  he  doth  it.  In  that  hour 
it  is  done.  "  Thou,  therefore,  look  for  it  every  moment : 
you  can  be  no  worse,  if  you  are  no  better,  for  that  expec- 
tation ;  for  were  you  to  be  disappointed  of  your  hope,  still 
you  lose  nothing.  But  you  shall  not  be  disappointed  of 
your  hope :  it  will  come,  it  will  not  tarry.  Look  for  it 
then  every  day,  every  hour,  every  moment.  Why  not  this 
hour  %  this  moment  \  Certainly  you  may  look  for  it  now, 
if  you  believe  it  is  by  faith.    And  by  this  token  you  may 

♦  [Where  does  Wesley  demand  an  instantaneous  deliverance  as  op- 
posed to  a  jjradual  one  ?  Though  he  held  such  a  deliverance  to  be  the 
privilege  of  believers,  he  did  not  insist  that  none  could  come  more 
gradually  to  the  same  blessed  privileges. — Am.  Ed.'\ 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  VI. — Am.  Ed.] 


70  Wesley's  doctrines  and  oplvigns. 


surely  know  whethei'  you  seek  it  by  faith  or  works.*  If 
by  works,  you  want  something  to  be  done  first,  before  you 
are  sanctified.  You  think  I  tnust  first  he,  or  do,  thus  or 
thus.  Then  you  are  seeking  it  by  works  unto  this  day.  If 
you  seek  it  by  faith,  you  may  expect  it  as  you  are  ;  then 
expect  it  now.  It  is  of  importance  to  observe,  that  there 
is  an  inseparable  connection  between  these  three  points — 
expect  it  by  faith,  expect  it  as  you  are,  and  expect  it  now. 
To  deny  one  of  them,  is  to  deny  them  all :  to  allow  one, 
is  to  allow  them  all.  Do  you  believe  we  are  sanctified  by 
faith  ]  Be  true  then  to  your  principle,  and  look  for  this 
blessing  just  as  you  are,  neither  better  nor  worse  ;  as  a 
poor  sinner,  that  has  nothing  to  pay,  nothing  to  plead,  but 
'  Christ  died.'  And  if  you  look  for  it  as  you  are,  then  ex- 
pect it  now.\  Stay  for  nothing  !  Why  should  you  1  Christ 
is  ready,  and  he  is  all  you  want.  He  is  waiting  for  you  ! 
He  is  at  the  door.  Whosoever  thou  art  who  desirest  to  be 
forgiven,  first  believe.  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  then  thou  shalt  do  all  things  well.  Say  not,  '  I  can  not 
be  accepted  yet,  because  I  am  not  good  enough.'  Who  is 
good  enough,  who  ever  was,  to  merit  acceptance  at  God's 
hands  ?  Say  not,  *  I  am  not  contrite  enough  ;  I  am  not 
sensible  enough  of  my  sins.'  I  know  it.  I  would  to  God 
thou  wert  more  sensible  of  them,  and  more  contrite  a 
thousandfold  than  thou  art  !  But  do  not  stay  for  this.  It 
may  be  God  will  make  thee  so ;  not  before  thou  believest, 
but  by  believing.  It  may  be  thou  wilt  not  weep  much,  till 
thou  lovest  much,  because  thou  hast  had  much  forgiven." 

Upon  these  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  New  Birth, 
and  Justification  by  Faith,  he  exhorted  his  disciples  to 
insist  with  all  boldness,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places  :  in 
public,  those  who  were  called  thereto  ;  and  at  all  oppor- 
tunities in  private.  But  what  is  faith  If  "  Not  an  opin- 
ion," said  Wesley,  "  nor  any  number  of  opinions  put 
together,  be  they  ever  so  true.  A  string  of  opinions  is 
no  more  Christian  faith,  than  a  string  of  beads  is  Christian 
holiness.  It  is  not  an  assent  to  any  opinion,  or  any  number 
of  opinions.  A  man  may  assent  to  three,  or  three-and- 
twenty  creeds  :  he  may  assent  to  all  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 

*  This  is  shrewd  logic  ;  but  it  i^  mere  logic.  A  month's  meditation 
on  the  being  of  sin,  and  not  on  the  verbal  definition  of  the  word  sin, 
might,  perhaps,  have  showTi  Wesley  its  futility.  But  life  was  always  a 
metaphor  for  him.    He  never  got  deeper  than  (5 log. — S.  T.  C. 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  VII. — Am.  Ed.'\ 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  Ylll.—Am.  Ed.} 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


71 


lament  (at  least  so  far  as  he  understands  them),  and  yet 
have  no  Christian  faith  at  all.  The  faith  by  which  the 
promise  is  attained,  is  represented  by  Christianity  as  a 
power  wrought  by  the  Almighty  in  an  immortal  spirit, 
mhabiting  a  house  of  clay,  to  see  through  that  veil  into  the 
world  of  spirits,  into  things  invisible  and  eternal :  a  power 
to  discern  those  things  which,  with  eyes  of  flesh  and  blood, 
no  man  hath  seen,  or  can  see ;  either  by  reason  of  their 
nature,  which  (though  they  surround  us  on  every  side)  is 
not  perceivable  by  these  gross  senses ;  or  by  reason  of 
their  distance,  as  being  yet  afar  off  in  the  bosom  of  eter- 
nity. It  showeth  what  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  could  it  before  enter  into  our  heart  to  conceive  ; 
and  all  this  in  the  clearest  light,  with  the  fullest  certainty 
and  evidence.  For  it  does  not  leave  us  to  receive  our 
notice  by  mere  reflection  from  the  dull  glass  of  sense,  but 
resolves  a  thousand  enigmas  of  the  highest  concern,  by  giv- 
ing faculties  suited  to  things  invisible.  It  is  the  eye  of  the 
new-born  soul,  whereby  every  true  believer  seeth  Him 
who  is  invisible."  It  is  the  ear  of  the  soul,  whereby  the 
sinner  "  hears  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  hves  the 
palate  of  the  soul  (if  the  expression  may  be  allowed), 
whereby  a  believer  "  tastes  the  good  word  and  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come the  feeling  of  the  soul,  whereby 
"  through  the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadowing  him," 
he  perceives  the  presence  of  Him  in  whom  he  lives,  and 
moves,  and  has  his  being,  and  feels  the  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  his  heart.  It  is  the  internal  evidence  of  Christ- 
ianity, a  perpetual  revelation,  equally  strong,  equally  new, 
through  all  the  centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  the  in- 
carnation, and  passing  now  even  as  it  has  done  from  the 
beginning,  directly  from  God  into  the  believing  soul.  Do 
you  suppose  time  will  ever  dry  up  this  stream  ?  Oh  no ! 
It  shall  never  be  cut  off — 

Lahitur  et  labetur  in  omnc  volubilis  cBvum. 
It  flows,  and  as  it  flows,  forever  will  flow  on. 

The  historical  evidence  of  revelation,  strong  and  clear  as  it 
is,  is  cognizable  by  men  of  learning  alone  ;  but  this  is  plain, 
simple,  and  level  to  the  lowest  capacity.  The  sum  is,  "One 
thing  I  know:  I  was  blind,  but  now  I  see  ;"  an  argument 
of  which  a  peasant,  a  woman,  a  child,  may  feel  all  the  force. 
The  traditional  evidence  gives  an  account  of  what  was 
transacted  far  away,  and  long  ago.  The  inward  evidence 
is  intimately  present  to  all  persons,  at  all  times,  and  in  all 


72  Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


places.  "  It  is  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart, 
if  thou  believest  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  T?iis,  then,  is 
the  record,  this  is  the  evidence,  emphatically  so  called,  that 
God  hath  given  unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son. 

Why,  then,  have  not  all  ipen  this  faith?  Because  no 
man  is  able  to  vfork  it  in  himself:  it  is  a  work  of  Omnipo- 
tence. It  requires  no  less  power  thus  to  quicken  a  dead 
soul,  than  to  raise  a  body  that  lies  in  the  grave.  It  is  a 
new  creation ;  and  none  can  create  a  soul  anew,  but  He 
who  at  first  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  May  not 
your  own  experience  teach  you  this  ]  said  Wesley.  Can 
you  give  yourself  this  faith  1  Is  it  in  your  power  to  see,  or 
hear,  or  taste,  or  feel  God  ? — to  raise  in  youi-self  any  per- 
ception of  God,  or  of  an  invisible  world  ] — to  open  an  in- 
tercourse between  yourself  and  the  world  of  spirits  1 — to 
discern  either  them  or  Him  that  created  them  ? — to  burst 
the  veil  that  is  on  your  heart,  and  let  in  the  light  of  eter- 
nity ?  You  know  it  is  not.  You  not  only  do  not,  but  can 
not  (by  your  own  strength),  thus  believe.*  The  more  you 
labor  so  to  do,  the  more  you  will  be  convinced  it  is  the  gift 
of  God.  It  is  the  free  gift  of  God.  which  he  bestows  not 
on  those  who  are  worthy  of  his  favor,  not  on  such  as  are 
jrreviously  holy,  and  so  fit  to  be  cro^^^led  with  all  the  bless- 
ings of  his  goodness ;  but  on  the  ungodly  and  unholy  ;  on 
those  who,  till  that  hour,  were  fit  only  for  everlasting  de- 
struction ;  those  in  whom  was  no  good  thing,  and  whose 
only  plea  was,  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!  No  merit, 
no  goodness  in  man,  precedes  the  forgiving  love  of  God. 
His  pardoning  mercy  supposes  nothing  in  us  but  a  sense 
of  mere  sin  and  misery ;  and  to  all  who  see  and  feel,  and 
own  their  wants,  and  their  utter  inability  to  remove  them, 
God  freely  gives  faith,  for  the  sake  of  Him  "  in  whom  he  is 
always  well  pleased."  Whosoever  thou  art,  O  man,  who 
hast  the  sentence  of  death  in  thyself,  unto  thee  saith  the 
Lord,  not,  "  Do  this,  perfectly  obey  all  my  commands,  and 
live  ;"  but,  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved." 

*  I  venture  to  avow  it  as  my  com-iction,  that  either  Christian  faith  ia 
what  Wesley  here  describes,  or  there  is  no  proper  meaning  in  the  worcL 
It  is  either  the  identity  of  the  reason  and  the  will  (the  proper  spiritual 
part  of  man),  in  the  full  energy  of  each,  consequent  on  a  di\'ine  re- 
kindlins,  or  it  is  not  at  all.  Faith  is  as  real  as  hfe  ;  as  actual  as  force; 
as  effectual  as  volition.  It  is  the  physics  of  the  moral  being,  no  less 
than  it  is  the  physics  or  morale  of  the  zoo-physical. — S.  T.  C.  May  1, 
18:20. 


Wesley's  docteines  and  opinions. 


73 


Without  faith,  a  man  can  not  be  justified,  even  though 
he  should  have  every  thing  else ;  with  faith,  he  can  not  but 
be  justified,  though  every  thing  else  should  be  wanting. 
This  justifying  faith  implies  not  only  the  personal  revela- 
tion, the  inward  evidence  of  Christianity,  but  likewise  a 
sure  and  firm  confidence  in  the  individual  believer,  that 
Christ  died  for  his  sins,  loved  him,  and  gave  his  life  for 
Jiim.  And  at  what  time  soever  a  sinner  thus  believes^  God 
justifieth  him.  Repentance,  indeed,  must  have  been  given 
him  before ;  but  that  repentance  was  neither  more  nor  less 
than  a  deep  sense  of  the  want  of  all  good,  and  the  presence 
of  all  evil ;  and  whatever  good  he  hath  or  doth  from  that 
hour  when  he  first  believes  in  God  through  Christ,  faith 
does  not  find,  but  bring.  Both  repentance,  and  fruits  meet 
for  repentance,  are  in  some  degree  necessary  to  justifica- 
tion ;  but  they  are  not  necessary  in  the  same  sense  with 
faith,  nor  in  the  same  degree.  Not  in  the  same  degree  ;  for 
these  fruits  are  only  necessary  conditionally,  if  there  be 
time  and  opportunity  for  them.  Not  in  the  same  sense  ; 
for  repentance  and  its  fruits  are  only  remotely  necessary — 
necessary  in  order  to  faith ;  whereas  faith  is  immediately 
and  directly  necessary  to  justification.  In  like  manner,  faith 
is  the  only  condition  of  sanctifi cation.  Every  one  that  be- 
lieves is  sanctified,  whatever  else  he  has,  or  has  not.  In 
other  words,  no  man  can  be  sanctified  till  he  believes; 
every  man,  when  he  believes,  is  sanctified. 

Here  AVesley  came  upon  perilous  ground.  We  must 
be  holy  in  heart  and  life,  before  we  can  be  conscious  that 
we  are  so.  But  we  must  love  God  before  we  can  be  holy 
at  all.  We  can  not  love  Him  till  we  know  that  He  loves 
us ;  and  this  we  can  not  know  till  his  Spirit  witnesses  it  to 
our  spirit.  The  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God  must,  there- 
fore, he  argued,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  antecedent 
to  the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit.  But  he  perceived  that 
many  had  mistaken  the  voice  of  their  own  imagination  for 
this  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  presumed  that  they  were 
children  of  God,  while  they  were  doing  the  works  of  the 
devil.  And  he  was  not  surprised  that  many  sensible  men, 
seeing  the  effects  of  this  delusion,  should  lean  toward 
another  extreme,  and  question  whether  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  whereof  the  apostle  speaks,  is  the  privilege  of 
ordinary  Christians,  and  not  rather  one  of  those  extraordi- 
nary gifts  which  they  suppose  belonged  only  to  the  apos- 
tle's age.    Yefe,  when  he  asks,  "  How"  may  one,  who  has 

VOL,  II. — D 


74 


WESLEY  S  DOCTRINES   AND  OPINIONS. 


the  real  witness  in  himself,  distinguish  it  from  presump- 
tion V  he  evades  the  difficulty,  and  offers  a  declamatory 
reply,  *'  How,  I  pray,  do  you  distinguish  day  from  night "? 
How  do  you  distinguish  light  from  darkness  ]  or  the  light 
of  a  star,  or  of  a  glimmering  taper,  from  the  light  of  the 
noonday  sun  V  This  is  the  ready  answer  of  every  one 
who  has  been  crazed  by  enthusiasm.*  But  Wesley  re- 
garded the  doctrine  as  one  of  the  glories  of  his  people,  as 
one  grand  part  of  the  testimony  which  God,  he  said,  had 
given  them  to  bear  to  all  mankind.  It  was  by  this  pecu- 
liar blessing  upon  them,  confirmed  by  the  experience  of 
his  children,  that  this  great  evangelical  truth,  he  averred, 
had  been  recovered,  which  had  been  for  many  years  well 
nigh  lost  and  forgotten. 

These  notions  led  to  the  doctrine  of  Assurance,  which 
he  had  defended  so  pertinaciously  against  his  brother 
Samuel.  But  upon  this  point  his  fervor  had  abated,  and 
he  made  a  fairer  retractation  than  was  to  be  expected  from 
the  founder  of  a  sect.  "  Some,"  said  he,  "  are  fond  of  the 
expression ;  I  am  not :  I  hardly  ever  use  it.  But  I  will 
simply  declare  (having  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to 
draw  the  sword  of  controversy  concerning  it)  what  are  ray 
present  sentiments  with  regard  to  the  thing  which  is  usually 
meant  thereby.  I  believe  a  few,  but  very  few  Christians, 
have  an  assurance  from  God  of  everlasting  salvation  :  and 
that  is  the  thing  which  the  apostle  terms  the  plerophory, 
or  full  assurance  of  hope.  I  believe  more  have  such  an 
assurance  of  being  now  in  the  favor  of  God,  as  excludes  all 
doubt  and  fear :  and  this,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  is  what  the 
apostle  means  by  the  plerophory,  or  full  assurance  of  faith. 
I  believe  a  consciousness  of  being  in  the  favor  of  God 
(which  I  do  not  term  plerophory,  or  full  assurance,  since  it 
is  frequently  weakened,  nay,  perhaps  interrupted,  by  re- 
turns of  doubt  or  fear)  is  the  common  privilege  of  Christ- 
ians, fearing  God,  and  working  righteousness.  Yet  I  do 
not  affirm  there  are  no  exceptions  to  this  general  rule. 
Possibly  some  may  be  in  the  favor  of  God,  and  yet  go 
mourning  all  the  day  long.  (But  I  believe  this  is  usually 
owing  either  to  disorder  of  body,  or  ignorance  of  the  gospel 
promises.)    Therefore  I  have  not,  for  many  years,  thought 

*  [It  was  not  for  the  want  of  another  answer  that  Wesley  sometimes 
used  this.  The  Scriptures  give  the  true  criteria  by  which  we  may  "  Xr\ 
the  spirits  whether  they  be  of  God ;"  and  he  was  well  acquainted  vnm 
them. — Am.  Ed.^ 


VVE8LEY*S  DOCTRINES   AND  OPINIONS.  75 


a  consciousness  of  acceptance  to  be  essential  to  justifying 
faith.  And  after  I  have  thus  explained  myself  once  for  all, 
1  think  without  any  evasion  or  ambiguity,  I  am  sure  with- 
out any  self-contradiction,  I  hope  all  reasonable  men  will 
be  satisfied :  and  whoever  will  still  dispute  with  me  on  this 
head,  must  do  it  for  disputing's  sake." 

The  doctrine  of  Perfection*  is  not  less  perilous,  sure  as 
the  expression  was  to  be  mistaken  by  the  ignorant  people 
to  whom  his  discourses  were  addressed.  This,  too,  was  a 
doctrine  which  he  had  preached  with  inconsiderate  ardor 
at  the  commencement  of  his  career ;  and  which,  as  he 
grew  older,  cooler,  and  wiser,  he  modified  and  softened 
down,  so  as  almost  to  explain  it  away.t  He  defined  it  to 
be  a  constant  communion  with  God,  which  fills  the  heart 
with  humble  love  ;  and  to  this,  he  insisted,  that  every 
believer  might  attain  :  yet  he  admitted  that  it  did  not 
include  a  power  never  to  think  a  useless  thought,  nor 
speak  a  useless  word.  Such  a  perfection  is  inconsistent 
with  a  corruptible  body,  which  makes  it  impossible  always 
to  think  right :  if,  therefore,  Christian  perfection  implies 
this,  he  admitted  that  we  must  not  expect  it  till  after  death. 
To  one  of  his  female  disciples,  who  seems  to  have  written 
to  him  under  a  desponding  sense  of  her  own  imperfection, 
he  replied  in  these  terms  :  "  I  want  you,"  he  added,  **  to 
be  all  love.  This  is  the  perfection  I  believe  and  teach; 
and  this  perfection  is  consistent  with  a  thousand  nervous 
disorders,  which  that  high-strained  perfection  is  not.  In- 
deed my  judgment  is,  that  (in  this  case  particularly)  to 
overdo  is  to  undo;  and  that  to  set  perfection  too  high,  is 
the  most  effectual  way  of  driving  it  out  of  the  world."  In 
like  manner  he  justified  the  word  to  Bishop  Gibson,  by 
explaining  it  to  mean  less  than  it  expressed ;  so  that  the 
bishop  replied  to  him,  "  Why,  Mr.  Wesley,  if  this  is  what 
you  mean  by  perfection,  who  can  be  against  it  ]"  "  Man," 
he  says,  "  in  his  present  state,  can  no  more  attain  Adamic 
than  angelic  perfection.  The  perfection  of  which  man  is 
capable,  while  he  dwells  in  a  corruptible  body,  is  the  com- 
plying with  that  kind  command,  '  My  son,  give  me  thy 
heart !'    It  is  the  loving  the  Lord  his  God,  with  all  his 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  X. — Am.  Ed.'\ 

t  [That  is,  he  so  guarded  his  language  as  to  render  it  incapable  of 
objections  from  the  pious  and  discreet,  and  of  jests  from  the  profane ; 
the  essence  of  the  doctrine  itself,  he  neither  "  modified"  nor  "  softened 
down,"  much  less  did  he  "  explain  it  away." — Am.  Ed.} 


76 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


heart,  and  with  all  his  soul,  and  with  all  his  mind."  But 
these  occasional  explanations  did  not  render  the  general 
use  of  the  word  less  mischievous,  or  less  reprehensible.* 
Ignorant  hearers  took  it  for  what  it  appeared  to  mean  ; 
and  what,  from  the  mouths  of  ignorant  instructors,  it  was 
intended  to  mean.  It  flattered  their  vanity  and  their  spir- 
itual pride,  and  became  one  of  the  most  popular  tenets  of 
the  Methodists,  precisely  because  it  is  one  of  the  most 
objectionable.  Wesley  himself  repeatedly  finds  fault  with 
his  preachers  if  they  neglected  to  enforce  a  doctrine  so 
well  adapted  to  gratify  their  hearers.  In  one  place  he 
says,  "  The  more  I  converse  with  the  believers  in  Corn- 
wall, the  more  am  I  convinced  that  they  have  sustained 
great  loss  for  want  of  hearing  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
Perfection  clearly  and  strongly  enforced.  I  see  wherever 
this  is  not  done,  the  believers  grow  dead  and  cold.  Nor 
can  this  be  prevented,  but  by  keeping  up  in  them  an  hourly 
expectation  of  being  perfected  in  love.  I  say  an  hourly 
expectation  ;  for  to  expect  it  at  death,  or  some  time  hence, 
is  much  the  same  as  not  expecting  it  at  all."  And  on 
another  occasion  he  writes  thus  :  "  Here  I  found  the  plain 
reason  why  the  work  of  God  had  gained  no  ground  in  this 
circuit  all  the  year.  The  preachers  had  given  up  the 
Methodist  testimony.  Either  they  did  not  speak  of  per- 
fection at  all  (the  peculiar  doctrine  committed  to  our  trust), 
or  they  spoke  of  it  only  in  general  terms,  without  urging 
the  believers  to  go  on  to  perfection,  and  to  expect  it  every 
moment :  and  wherever  this  is  not  earnestly  done,  the 
work  of  God  does  not  prosper.  As  to  the  word  perfec- 
tion," said  he,  "  it  is  scriptural ;  therefore  neither  you  nor 
I  can,  in  conscience,  object  to  it,  unless  we  would  send  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  school,  and  teach  Him  to  speak  who  made 
the  tongue."  Thus  it  was  that  he  attempted  to  justify  to 
others,  and  to  himself  also,  the  use  of  language,  for  perse- 
vering in  which,  after  the  intemperance  of  his  enthusiasm 
had  abated,  there  can  be  no  excuse,  seeing  that  all  he 
intended  to  convey  by  the  obnoxious  term  might  have  been 
expressed  without  offending  the  judicious,  or  deluding  the 
ignorant  and  indiscreet. 

Wesley  was  not  blind  to  the  tendency  of  these  doctrines. 

*  [It  is  strange  that  Scripture  truth,  as  Southey  admits  Wesley's 
meaning  to  have  been,  expressed  in  Scripture  language,  as  surely  the 
term  "perfection"  is,  should  yet  be  so  "mischievous"  and  "  reprehensi- 
ble."—^w.  £i.] 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  77 


*'  The  true  gospel,"  said  he,  **  touches  the  very  edge  both 
of  Calvinism  and  Antinomianisra,  so  that  nothing  but  the 
mighty  power  of  God  can  prevent  our  sliding  either  into 
the  one  or  the  other."  Many  of  his  associates  and  follow- 
ers fell  into  both.  He  always  declared  himself  clearly  and 
strongly  against  both ;  though  at  the  expense  of  some  in- 
consistency, when  he  preached  of  a  sanctification  which 
left  the  subject  liable  to  sin,  of  an  assurance  which  was  not 
assured,  and  of  an  imperfect  perfection.*  But  his  real 
opinion  could  not  be  mistaken  ;  and  few  men  have  combat- 
ed these  pestilent  errors  with  more  earnestness  or  more 
success.  He  never  willingly  engaged  in  those  subtile  and 
unprofitable  discussions  which  have  occasioned  so  much 
dissension  in  the  Christian  world;  but  upon  those  points 
in  which  speculation  is  allowable,  and  error  harmless,  he 
freely  indulged  his  imagination. 

It  was  his  opinion,  that  there  is  a  chain  of  beings  ad- 
vancing by  degrees  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  point — 
from  an  atom  of  unorganized  matter,  to  the  highest  of  the 
archangels ;  an  opinion  consonant  to  the  philosophy  of  the 
bards,  and  confirmed  by  science,  as  far  as  our  physiologi- 
cal knowledge  extends.  He  believed  in  the  ministry  both 
of  good  and  evil  angels  ;t  but  whether  every  man  had  a 
guardian  angel  to  protect  him,  as  the  Romanists  hold,  and 
a  malignant  demon  continually  watching  to  seduce  him 
into  the  ways  of  sin  and  death,  this  he  considered  as  un- 
determined by  revelation,  and  therefore  doubtful.  Evil 
thoughts  he  held  to  be  infused  into  the  minds  of  men  by 
the  evil  principle  ;  and  that  "  as  no  good  is  done,  or  spoken, 
or  thought,  by  any  man,  without  the  assistance  of  God 
working  together  in  and  wit?i  those  that  believe  in  him ;  so 
there  is  no  evil  done,  or  spoken,  or  thought,  without  the 
assistance  of  the  devil,  who  worketh  with  energy  in  the 
children  of  unbelief.  And  certainly,"  said  he,  "  it  is  as  easy 
for  a  spirit  to  speak  to  our  heart,  as  for  a  man  to  speak  to 
our  ears.  But  sometimes  it  is  exceedingly  difiicult  to 
distinguish  the  thoughts  which  he  infuses  from  our  own 

♦  [This  is  quite  in  character ;  but  the  sophistry  of  the  whole  sentence 
is  too  plain  to  allow  even  a  moment's  triumph.  Does  spiritual  sanctifi- 
cation imply  impeccability?  Is  assurance  of  present  acceptance  with 
God,  and  assurance  of  eternal  salvation  identical  ?  Is  Christian  perfec- 
tion necessarily  absolute  perfection  ?  Let  these  questions  be  well  con- 
sidered before  Wesley  is  lightly  charged  with  inconsistency,  on  these 
points. — Am.  Ed-I 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  XI. — Am.  Ed."] 


78  Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


thoughts,  those  which  he  injects  so  exactly  resembling 
those  which  naturally  arise  in  our  own  minds.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  we  may  distinguish  one  from  the  other  by  this 
circumstance  :  the  thoughts  which  naturally  arise  in  our 
minds  are  generally,  if  not  always,  occasioned  by,  or  at 
least  connected  with,  some  inward  or  outward  circum- 
stance that  went  before  ;  but  those  that  are  pretematurally 
suggested,  have  frequently  no  relation  to,  or  connection 
(at  least,  none  that  we  are  able  to  discern)  with,  any  thing 
which  preceded.  On  the  contrary,  they  shoot  in,  as  it 
were,  across,  and  thereby  show  that  they  are  of  a  different 
growth." 

His  notions  of  diabolical  agency  went  farther  than  this  :* 
he  imputed  to  it  many  of  the  accidents  and  discomforts  of 
life — disease,  bodily  hurts,  storms  and  earthquakes,  and 
nightmare :  he  believed  that  epilepsy  was  often  or  always 
the  effect  of  possession,  and  that  most  madmen  were  de- 
moniacs. A  belief  in  witchcraft  naturally  followed  from 
these  premises ;  but  after  satisfying  his  understanding  that 
supernatural  acts  and  appearances  are  consistent  with  the 
order  of  the  universe,  sanctioned  by  Scripture,  and  proved 
by  testimony  too  general  and  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  he 
invalidated  his  own  authority,  by  listening  to  the  most  ab- 
surd tales  with  implicit  credulity,  and  recording  them  as 
authenticated  facts.  He  adhered  to  the  old  opinion,  that 
the  devils  were  the  gods  of  the  heathen ;  and  he  maintain- 
ed, that  the  words  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  have  been 
rendered  evil,  mean,  in  the  original,  the  wicked  one,  "  em- 
phatically so  called,  the  prince  and  god  of  this  world,  who 
works  with  mighty  power  in  the  children  of  disobedience." 

One  of  his  most  singular  notions  was  concerning  the  day 
of  judgment.  He  thought  it  probable  that  its  duration 
would  be  several  thousand  years,  that  the  place  would  be 
above  the  earth,  and  that  the  circumstances  of  every  indi- 
vidual's life  would  then  be  brought  forth  in  full  view,  to- 
gether with  all  their  tempers,  and  all  the  desires,  thoughts, 
and  intents  of  their  hearts.  This  he  thought  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  full  display  of  the  glory  of  God,  for  the 
clear  and  perfect  manifestation  of  his  wisdom,  justice, 
power,  and  mercy.  '*  Then  only,"  he  argued,  "  when  God 
hath  brought  to  light  all  the  hidden  things  of  darkness, 
will  it  be  seen  that  wise  and  good  were  all  his  ways ;  that 
he  saw  through  the  thick  cloud,  and  governed  all  things  by 
*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XII. — Am.  Ed.] 


Wesley's  docteines  and  opinions.  79 


the  wise  counsel  of  his  own  will ;  that  nothing  was  left  to 
chance  or  the  caprice  of  men,  but  God  disposed  all  strong- 
ly, and  wrought  all  into  one  connected  chain  of  justice, 
mercy,  and  truth."  Whether  the  earth  and  the  material 
heavens  would  be  consumed  by  the  general  conflagration, 
and  pass  away,  or  be  transmuted  by  the  fire  into  that  sea 
of  glass  like  unto  crystal,  which  is  described  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse as  extending  before  the  throne,  we  could  neither 
affirm  nor  deny,  he  said ;  but  we  should  know  hereafter. 
He  held  the  doctrine  of  the  millennium  to  be  scriptural ; 
but  he  never  fell  into  those  wild  and  extravagant  fancies,  in 
which  speculations  of  this  kind  so  frequently  end.  The 
Apocalypse  is  the  favorite  study  of  crazy  religionists ;  but 
Wesley  says  of  it,  "  Oh,  how  little  do  we  know  of  this  deep 
book  !  at  least,  how  little  do  I  know  !  I  can  barely  con- 
jecture, not  affirm,  any  one  point  concerning  that  part  of  it 
which  is  yet  unfulfilled." 

He  entertained  some  interesting  opinions  concerning  the 
brute  creation,  and  derived  whatever  evils  inferior  creatures 
endure,  or  inflict  upon  each  other,  from  the  consequence  of 
the  Fall.  In  Paradise  they  existed  in  a  state  of  happiness, 
enjoying  will  and  liberty  :  their  passions  and  affections  were 
regular,  and  their  choice  always  guided  by  their  under- 
standing, which  was  perfect  in  its  kind.    *'  What,"  says  he, 

is  the  barrier  between  men  and  brutes — the  line  which 
they  can  not  pass  %  It  is  not  reason.  Set  aside  that  am- 
biguous term ;  exchange  it  for  the  plain  word  understand- 
ing, and  who  can  deny  that  brutes  have  this  ?  We  may  as 
well  deny  that  they  have  sight  or  hearing.  But  it  is  this : 
man  is  capable  of  God  ;  the  inferior  creatures  are  not.  We 
have  no  ground  to  believe  that  they  are  in  any  degree  ca- 
pable of  knowing,  loving,  or  obeying  God.  This  is  the 
specific  difference  between  man  and  brute — the  great  gulf 
which  they  can  not  pass  over.  And  as  a  loving  obedience 
to  God  was  the  perfection  of  man,  so  a  loving  obedience  to 
man  was  the  perfection  of  brutes."  While  this  continued, 
they  were  happy  after  their  kind,  in  the  right  state  and  the 
right  use  of  all  their  faculties.  Evil  and  pain  had  not  entered 
into  Paradise  ;  and  they  were  immortal  ;*  for  "  God  made 

*  Wesley  appears  to  have  confounded  the  term  immortal  with  im- 
perishable. Life  may  be  (and  if  life  be  ens  rerum,  must  be)  imperish- 
able ;  but  only  reason  is,  or  can  render,  immortal.  An  immortal  bmte 
is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  Without  continued  progression  there  is  no 
motive,  =  but  without  self-consciousness  there  is  no  subject,  for  immoi*- 
tality.    But  self-consciousness  (which  I  suspect  Wesley  confounded 


60 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


not  death,  neither  hath  he  pleasure  in  the  death  of  any  liv- 
ing." How  true,  then,  is  that  word,  "  God  saw  every  thing 
that  he  had  made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good." 

But  as  all  the  blessings  of  God  flowed  through  man  to 
the  inferior  creatures,  those  blessings  were  cut  off  when 
man  made  himself  incapable  of  transmitting  them,  and  all 
creatures  were  then  subjected  to  sorrow,  and  pain,  and  evil  of 
every  kind.  It  is  probable  that  the  meaner  creatures  sus- 
tained much  loss,  even  in  the  lower  faculties  of  their  cor- 
poreal powers  :  they  suffered  more  in  their  understanding, 
and  still  more  in  their  liberty,  their  passions,  and  their  will. 
The  very  foundations  of  their  nature  were  turned  upside 
down.  As  man  is  depiived  of  his  perfection,  his  loving 
obedience  to  God,  so  brutes  are  deprived  of  their  perfec- 
tion, their  loving  obedience  to  man.  The  far  greater  part 
flee  from  his  hated  presence ;  others  set  him  at  defiance, 
and  destroy  him  when  they  can ;  a  few  only  retain  more 
•  or  less  of  their  original  disposition,  and,  through  the  mercy 
of  God,  still  love  him  and  obey  him.  And  in  consequence 
of  the  first  transgression,  death  came  upon  the  whole  crea- 
tion ;  and  not  death  alone,  but  all  its  train  of  preparatory 
evils,  pain,  and  ten  thousand  sufferings  ;  nor  these  only,  but 
likewise  those  irregular  passions,  all  those  unlovely  tem- 
pers, which  in  man  are  sins,  and  even  in  brutes  are  sources 
of  misery,  passed  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and 
remain  in  all,  except  the  children  of  God.  Inferior  crea- 
tures torment,  persecute  and  devour  each  other,  and  all  are 
tormented  and  persecuted  by  man.  But,  says  Wesley,  will 
the  creature,  will  even  the  brute  creation  always  remain  in 
this  deplorable  condition  %  God  forbid  that  we  should  af- 
firm this,  yea,  or  even  entertain  such  a  thought.  While  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  together,  whether  men  attend  or 
not,  their  groans  are  not  dispersed  in  idle  air,  but  enter  into 
the  ears  of  him  that  made  them.  Away  with  vulgar  preju- 
dices, and  let  the  plain  word  of  God  take  place !  **  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  :  and  there  shall  be  no  more 
death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying.    Neither  shall  there  be 

with  the  copula  of  vital  sensations  in  the  successive  unity  of  the  multi- 
tude of"  acts  that  constitute  the  life  in  each  successive  instant  of  time) — 
self-consciousness  is,  or  implies,  reason :  for  it  implies  the  power  of  con- 
templating the  self,  as  an  idea  loosened  from  the  sensation  of  one's  own 
self,  as  the,  I  am  I  James,  or  I  John ;  consequently  the  power  of  de- 
termining an  ultimate  end — which  if  brutes  possess,  they  are  no  longer 
brutes.  But  this  opinion  affords  a  fresh  proof  that  Wesley's  intellect 
never  rose  above  logic. — S.  T.  C. 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  81 


any  more  pain ;  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away." 
This  blessing  shall  take  place ;  not  on  men  alone  (there  is 
no  such  restriction  in  the  text),  but  on  every  creature  ac- 
cording to  its  capacity.  The  whole  brute  creation  will  then 
undoubtedly  be  restored  to  all  that  they  have  lost,  and  with 
a  large  increase  of  faculties.*  They  will  be  delivered  from 
all  unruly  passions,  from  all  evil,  and  all  suffering.  And 
what  if  it  should  then  please  the  all-wise,  the  all-gracious 
Creator,  to  raise  them  higher  in  the  scale  of  beings  U 
What  if  it  should  please  Him,  when  he  makes  us  equal  to 
angels,  to  make  them  what  we  are  now,  creatures  capable 
of  God,  capable  of  knowing,  and  loving,  and  enjoying  the 
author  of  their  being? 

Some  teacher  of  materialism  had  asserted  that  if  man 
had  an  immaterial  soul,  so  had  the  brutes ;  as  if  this  con- 
clusion reduced  that  opinion  to  a  manifest  absurdity.  **  I 
will  not  quarrel,"  said  Wesley,  "  with  any  that  think  they 
have.  Nay,  I  wish  he  could  prove  it ;  and  surely  I  would 
rather  allow  them  souls,  than  I  would  give  up  my  own." 
He  cherished  this  opinion,  because  it  furnished  a  full  answer 
to  a  plausible  objection  against  the  justice  of  God.  That  jus- 
tice might  seem  to  be  impugned  by  the  sufferings  to  which 
brute  animals  are  subject ;  those,  especially,  who  are  under 
the  tyranny  of  brutal  men.  But  the  objection  vanishes,  if 
we  consider  that  something  better  remains  after  death  for 
these  poor  creatures  also.  This  good  end,  he  argued,  was 
answered  by  thus  speculating  upon  a  subject  which  we  so 
imperfectly  understand  ;  and  such  speculations  might  soften 
and  enlarge  our  hearts. 

The  kindness  of  Wesley's  nature  is  apparent  in  this  opin- 
ion, and  that  same  kindness  produced  in  him  a  degree  of 
charity,  which  has  seldom  been  found  in  those  who  aspire 
to  reform  a  church  or  to  establish  a  sect.  "  We  may  die," 
he  says,  *•  without  the  knowledge  of  many  truths,  and  yet 
be  carried  into  Abraham's  bosom ;  but  if  we  die  without 
love,  what  will  knowledge  avail  ]  Just  as  much  as  it  avails 
the  devil  and  his  angels  !  I  will  not  quarrel  with  you  about 
my  opinion  ;  only  see  that  your  heart  be  right  toward  God, 
that  you  know  and  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  you 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XIII.— ^m.  Ed.'\ 

+  How  was  it  possible  for  Wesley  not  to  see  that  there  is  no  meaning' 
HI  the  word  them,  as  applied  to  flies,  fish,  worms,  &c.  ?  As  well,  if  I 
Buffered  a  door  to  fall  to  pieces,  and  put  a  dog  in  the  passage  instead.  I 
might  be  said  to  have  raised  the  door  into  a  dog. — S.  T.  C. 

D* 


82  Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


love  your  neighbor,  and  walk  as  your  Master  walked,  and 
I  desire  no  more.  I  am  sick  of  opinions  :  I  am  weary  to 
bear  them  :  my  soul  lothes  this  frothy  food.  Give  me  solid 
and  substantial  religion  :  give  me  a  humble,  gentle  lover 
of  God  and  man  ;  a  man  full  of  mercy  and  good  faith,  with- 
out partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy;  a  man  laying  him- 
self out  in  the  work  of  faith,  the  patience  of  hope,  the  labor 
of  love.  Let  my  soul  be  with  these  Christians,  whereso- 
ever they  are,  and  whatsoever  opinion  they  are  of  *  Who- 
soever' thus  *  doth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother.'  " 
This  temper  of  mind  led  him  to  judge  kindly  of  the  Ro- 
manists,* and  of  heretics t  of  every  description  wherever 

*  "  I  read  the  deaths  of  some  of  the  order  of  La  Trappe.  I  am 
amazed  at  the  allowance  which  God  makes  for  invincible  ignorance. 
Notwithstanding  the  mixture  of  superstition  which  appears  in  every  one 
of  these,  yet  what  a  strong  vein  of  piety  runs  through  all !  What  deep 
experience  ef  the  inward  work  of  God,  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

"  In  riding  from  Evesham  to  Bristol,  I  read  over  that  surprising  book, 
the  Life  of  Ignatius  Loyola;  surely  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  ever 
was  engaged  in  the  support  of  so  bad  a  cause !  I  wonder  any  man 
should  judge  him  to  be  an  enthusiast.  No ;  Vjut  he  knew  the  people 
with  whom  he  had  to  do  ;  and  setting  out,  like  Count  Zinzendorf, 
with  a  full  persuasion  that  he  might  use  guile  to  promote  the  glory 
of  God,  or  (which  he  thought  t^^e  same  thing)  the  interests  of  hia 
Church,  he  acted  in  all  things  consistent  with  his  principles." 

t  Of  Pelagius  he  says,  "  By  all  I  can  pick  up  from  ancient  authors,  I 
guess  he  was  both  a  wise  and  holy  man ;  that  we  know  nothing  but 
his  name,  for  his  writings  are  all  destroyed — not  one  line  of  them  left." 
So,  too,  he  says  of  some  heretics  of  an  earlier  age,  "  By  reflecting  on  an 
odd  Ijook  which  I  had  read  in  this  journey,  '  The  general  Delusion  of 
Christians  with  regard  to  Prophecy,'  I  was  fully  con\-inced  of  what  I 
had  long  suspected  :  first,  that  the  Montanists,  in  the  second  and  third 
centuries,  were  real,  scriptural  Christians ;  and  secondly,  that  the  grand 
reason  why  the  miraculous  gifts  were  so  soon  withdrawn,  was  not  only 
that  faith  and  holiness  were  well  nigh  lost,  but  that  dry,  formal,  ortho- 
dox men  began,  even  then,  to  ridicule  whatever  gifts  they  had  not 
themselves,  and  to  decry  them  all,  as  either  madness  or  imposture." 
He  vindicated  Servetus  also.  "  Being,"  he  says,  "  in  the  Bodleian  Li- 
brary, I  light  on  Mr.  Calvin's  account  of  the  case  of  Michael  Ser\  ems, 
several  of  whose  letters  he  occasionally  inserts,  wherein  Ser\'etus  often 
declares  in  terms,  *  I  believe  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  God.'  Mr.  Cahin,  however,  paints  him  such  a  monster 
as  never  was  :  an  Arian,  a  blasphemer,  and  what  not ;  beside  strewing 
over  him  his  flowers  of  dog,  devil,  swine,  and  so  on,  which  are  the  usual 
appellations  he  gives  to  his  opponents.  But  still  he  utterly  denies  his 
being  the  cause  of  Servetus's  death.  '  No,'  says  he, '  I  only  adWsed  our 
magistrates  as  having  a  right  to  restrain  heretics  by  the  sword,  to  seize 
upon  and  try  that  arch  heretic ;  but,  after  he  was  condemned,  I  said 
not  one  word  about  his  execution.'  " 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


83 


a  Christian  disposition  and  a  virtuous  life  were  found.*  He 
published  the  lives  of  several  Catholics,  and  of  one  Socin- 
ian,t  for  the  edification  of  his  followers.  He  believed  not 
only  that  heathens,  who  did  their  duty  according  to  their 
knowledge,  were  capable  of  eternal  life ;  but  even  that  a 
communion  with  the  spiritual  world  had  sometimes  been 
vouchsafed  them.  Thus  he  affirms  that  the  demon  of  Soc- 
rates was  a  ministering  angel,  and  that  Marcus  Antoninusf 
received  good  inspirations,  as  he  has  asserted  of  himself. 
And  where  there  was  no  such  individual  excellence,  as  in 
these  signal  instances,  he  refused  to  believe  that  any  man. 
could  be  precluded  from  salvation  by  the  accident  of  his 
birthplace.  Upon  this  point  he  vindicated  divine  justice, 
by  considering  the  different  relation  in  which  the  Almighty 

He  reverts  to  this  subject  in  his  Remarks  upon  a  Tract  by  Dr.  Ers- 
kine.  "  That  Michael  Servetus  was  '  one  of  the  wildest  anti-Trinita- 
rians that  ever  appeared,'  is  by  no  means  clear.  I  doubt  of  it,  on  the 
authority  of  Calvin  himself,  who  certainly  was  not  prejudiced  in  his  fa 
vor.  For,  if  Calvin  does  not  misquote  his  words,  he  was  no  anti-Trin- 
itarian at  all.  Calvin  himself  gives  a  quotation  from  one  of  his  letters, 
in  which  he  expressly  declares,  '  I  do  believe  the  Father  is  God,  the 
Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God  ;  but  I  dare  not  use  the  word 
Trinity,  or  persons.'  I  dare,  and  I  think  them  very  good  words ;  but 
should  think  it  very  hard  to  be  burned  alive  for  not  using  them,  espe- 
cially with  a  slow  fire,  made  of  moist,  green  wood.  I  believe  Calvin 
was  a  great  instrument  of  God ;  and  that  he  was  a  wise  and  pious  man ; 
but  I  can  not  but  advise  those  who  love  his  memory,  to  let  Servetus 
alone." 

*  I  scarcely  understand  the  interest  of  the  question  respecting  the 
Romish  being  a  true  church  for  an  enlightened  Protestant  of  the  present 
day.  I  know  of  no  church,  Jewish,  Turkish,  or  Brahmin,  in  which, 
and  in  spite  of  which,  a  man  may  not  possibly  be  saved.  Who  dares 
limit  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  But  if  such  salvation  taking  place,  not  by,  or 
with  the  aid  of,  but  in  spite  of  the  system,  presumes  an  anti-Christian 
church — then  Rome  is  Antichrist  though  the  Pascals  and  F^nelons  had 
been  ten  times  decupled. — S.  T.  C. 

t  Thomas  Firmin.  Wesley  prefaces  the  life  of  this  good  man,  in  his 
Magazine,  with  these  words:  "I  was  exceedingly  struck  at  reading 
the  following  life,  having  long  settled  it  in  my  mind,  that  the  entertain- 
ing wrong  notions  concerning  the  Trinity  was  inconsistent  with  real 
piety.  But  I  can  not  argue  against  matter  of  fact.  I  dare  not  deny 
that  Mr.  Firmin  was  a  pious  man,  although  his  notions  of  the  Trinity 
were  quite  erroneous." 

X  "I  read  to-day  part  of  the  meditations  of  Marcus  Antoninus. 
What  a  strange  emperor !  and  what  a  strange  heathen ! — giving  thanks 
to  God  for  all  the  good  things  he  enjoyed ! — in  particular  for  his  good 
inspirations,  and  for  twice  revealing  to  him  in  dreams  things  whereby 
he  was  cured  of  otherwise  incurable  distempers.  I  make  no  doubt  but 
this  is  one  of  those  many  who  shall  come  from  the  East  and  the  West, 
and  sit  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  while  the  children  of  the 
kingdom,  nominal  Christians,  are  shut  ont. 


84 


wesi.ey's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


stands  to  his  creatures,  as  a  creator,  and  as  a  governor.  As 
a  creator,  he  acts  in  all  things  according  to  his  own  sov- 
ereign will :  in  that  exercise  of  his  power,  justice  can  have 
no  place ;  for  nothing  is  due  to  what  has  no  being.  Ac- 
cordinj^,  therefore,  to  his  ovsoi  good  pleasure,  he  allots  the 
time,  the  place,  the  circumstances  for  the  birth  of  each  in- 
dividual, and  gives  them  various  degi'ees  of  understanding, 
and  of  knowledge,  diversified  in  numberless  ways.  "  It  is 
hard  to  say  how  far  this  extends  :  what  an  amazing  differ- 
ence there  is  between  one  born  and  bred  up  in  a  pious  En- 
glish family,  and  one  born  and  bred  among  the  Hottentots. 
Only  we  are  sure  the  difference  can  not  be  so  great  as  to 
necessitate  one  to  be  good,  or  the  other  to  be  evil ;  to  force 
one  into  everlasting  glory,  or  the  other  into  everlasting 
burnings.  For,  as  a  governor,  the  Almighty  can  not  pos- 
sibly act  according  to  his  own  mere  sovereign  will ;  but,  as 
he  has  expressly  told  us,  according  to  the  invariable  rules 
both  of  justice  and  mercy.  Whatsoever,  therefore,  it  hath 
pleased  Him  to  do  of  his  sovereign  pleasure  as  Crea- 
tor, He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  and  every 
man  therein,  according  to  the  strictest  justice.  He  will 
punish  no  man  for  doing  any  thing  which  he  could  not  pos- 
sibly avoid ;  neither  for  omitting  any  thing  which  he  could 
not  possibly  do." 

Wesley  was  sometimes  led  to  profess  a  different  doctrine, 
in  consequence  of  discussing  questions  which  serve  rather 
to  sharpen  the  disputatious  faculties  than  to  improve  a 
Christian  disposition.  Thus  he  has  affirmed,  in  the  Min- 
utes of  Conference,  that  a  Heathen,  a  Papist,  or  a  Church- 
of-England  man,  if  they  die  without  being  sanctified,  ac- 
cording to  his  notions  of  sanctification,  can  not  see  the  Lord. 
And  to  the  question,  Can  an  unbeliever,  whatever  he  be  in 
other  respects,  challenge  any  thing  of  God's  justice  1*  the 

*  Wesley  might,  and  probably  would,  have  vindicated  himself  from 
inconsistency,  by  laying  the  stress  on  the  words  "  challenge"  and  "jus- 
tice." Had  the  question  been,  Dare  we  hope  aught  from  God's  mercy 
for  an  unbeliever,  in  other  respects  unpolluted,  and  having  a  heart  of 
love  ? — the  answer  might  have  been :  If  such  there  be,  doubtless.  We 
may  hope,  though  we  are  not  authorized  to  promise. — S.  T.  C. 

[All  Southey's  difficulty  in  this  case  arises  from  an  ignoratio  elenchi ; 
he  misapprehends  the  subject.  Wesley  held  that  all  who  are  saved 
are  first  sanctified,  but  he  believed,  in  most  cases  this  was  accomphsh- 
ed  at  the  article  of  death,  and  in  a  manner  wholly  unknowTi  to  us.  In 
the  Minutes  for  August  1,  1745,  are  the  following  question  and  answer : 
"  Q.  Is  this  (entire  sanctification)  ordinarily  given  till  a  little  before 
death  ?  ^ .  It  is  not  to  those  who  expect  it  uo  sooner. ' '  The  discrepancy 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  85 


answer  is,  "  Absolutely  nothing  but  hell."  But  the  humaner 
opinion  was  more  congenial  to  his  temper,  and  in  that  bet- 
ter opinion  he  rested. 

between  these  last  stated  doctrines,  and  the  more  approved  "  humaner 
opinions"  does  not  appear  to  be  great.  As  a  whole,  it  must  be  allowed 
that  Southey  has  here  stated  Wesley  opinions  with  a  good  degree  of 
fairness.  He  evidently  did  not  understand  his  subject,  as  he  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  character  of  his  hero,  but  justice  demands  the  con- 
fession that  he  seems  to  have  meant  to  be  fair.  The  opinions  attributed 
to  Wesley,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  not  only  his,  out  they  are  such 
as  he  willingly  and  fearlessly  declared  at  all  times.  Some  of  the  re- 
marks and  inferences  in  the  foregoing  chapter  are  strongly  marked  by 
the  hand  of  the  author ;  but  were  that  otherwise,  they  would  not  be 
Southey's.  A  distinction  should  have  been  made  between  those  doc- 
trinal opinions  which  enter  into  the  constitution  of  Methodism,  and  the 
merely  speculative  notions  which,  though  entertained  by  Wesley,  make 
no  part  of  the  creed  of  his  followers.  The  former  includes  what  is  said 
of  the  moral  law,  the  fall  of  man  and  its  consequences,  the  nature  and 
offices  of  faith,  Justification,  Regeneration,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and 
Christian  perfection ;  the  latter  all  that  is  stated  about  the  immortaHty 
of  the  inferior  animals,  the  day  of  Judgment  and  the  Millennium. — Am. 
Ed.-] 


CHAPTER  XXL 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 

It  is  less  surprising  that  "Wesley  should  have  obtained 
so  many  followers,  than  that  he  should  have  organized  them 
so  skillfully,  and  preserved  his  power  over  them,  without 
diminution,  to  the  end  of  his  long  life.  Francis  of  Assissi, 
and  Ignatius  Loyola,  would  have  produced  little  effect, 
marvelous  enthusiasts  as  they  were,  unless  their  enthusiasm 
had  been  assisted  and  directed  by  wiser  heads.  Wesley, 
who  in  so  many  other  respects  may  be  compared  to  these 
great  agents  in  the  Catholic  world,  stands  far  above  them 
in  this.  He  legislated  for  the  sect  which  he  raised,  and 
exercised  an  absolute  supremacy  over  his  people.  "  The 
power  I  have,"  says  he,  "  I  never  sought :  it  was  the  un- 
desired,  unexpected  result  of  the  work  God  was  pleased 
to  work  by  me.  I  have  a  thousand  times  sought  to  de- 
volve it  on  others ;  but  as  yet  I  can  not ;  I  therefore 
suffer  it,  till  I  can  find  any  to  ease  me  of  my  burden." 
That  time  never  arrived.  It  was  convenient  for  the  soci- 
ety that  he  should  be  really  as  well  as  ostensibly  their 
head ;  and  however  he  may  have  deceived  himself,  the 
Jove  of  power  was  a  ruling  passion  in  his  mind. 

The  question  was  asked,  at  one  of  the  Conferences, 
what  the  power  was  which  he  exercised  over  all  the  Meth- 
odists in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  It  was  evidently  pro- 
posed that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of  defining  and 
asserting  it.  He  began  his  reply  by  premising,  that  Count 
Zinzendorf  loved  to  keep  all  things  closely,  but  that  he 
loved  to  do  all  things  openly,  and  would  therefore  tell 
them  all  he  knew  of  the  matter.  A  few  persons,  at  the 
beginning,  came  to  him  in  London,  and  desired  him  to 
advise  and  pray  with,  them  :  others  did  the  same  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  they  increased  everywhere. 
'*  The  desire,"  said  he,  "  was  on  their  part,  not  on  mine  : 
my  desire  was  to  live  and  die  in  retirement ;  but  I  did  not 
see  that  I  could  refuse  them  my  help,  and  be  guiltless  be- 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


87 


fore  God.  Here  commenced  my  power ;  namely,  a  power 
to  appoint  wiien,  where,  and  how  they  should  meet ;  and 
to  remove  those  whose  life  showed  that  they  had  no  desire 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  And  this  power  remained 
the  same,  whether  people  meeting  together  were  twelve, 
twelve  hundred,  or  twelve  thousand."  In  a  short  time 
some  of  these  persons  said  they  would  not  sit  under  him 
for  nothing,  but  would  subscribe  quarterly.  He  made  an- 
swer, that  he  would  have  nothing,  because  he  wanted  noth- 
ing ;  for  his  fellowship  supplied  him  with  all,  and  more 
than  all  he  wanted.  But  they  represented  that  money 
was  wanted  to  pay  for  the  lease  of  the  Foundry,  and  for 
putting  it  in  repair.  Upon  that  ground  he  suffered  them 
to  subscribe.  *'  Then  I  asked,"  said  he,  "  Who  will  take 
the  trouble  of  receiving  this  money,  and  paying  it  where  it 
is  needful  1  One  said,  I  will  do  it,  and  keep  the  account 
for  you  :  so  here  was  the  first  steward.  Afterward  I  desir- 
ed one  or  two  more  to  help  me  as  stewards  ;  and,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  a  greater  number.  Let  it  be  remarked,  it 
was  I  myself,  not  the  people,  who  chose  the  stewards,  and 
appointed  to  each  the  distinct  work  wherein  he  was  to  help 
me  as  long  as  I  chose."  The  same  prescription  he  pleaded 
with  regard  to  his  authority  over  the  lay  preachers.  The 
first  of  these  offered  to  serve  him  as  sons,  as  he  should 
think  proper  to  direct.  **  Observe,"  said  he,  "  these  like- 
wise desired  me,  not  I  them.  And  here  commenced  my 
power  to  appoint  each  of  these,  when,  where,  and  how  to 
labor ;  that  is,  while  he  chose  to  continue  with  me  ;  for 
each  had  a  power  to  go  away  when  he  pleased,  as  I  had 
also  to  go  away  from  them,  or  any  of  them,  if  I  saw  suffi- 
cient cause.  The  case  continued  the  same  when  the  num- 
ber of  preachers  increased.  I  had  just  the  same  power 
still  to  appoint  when,  and  where,  and  how  each  should  help 
me ;  and  to  tell  any,  if  I  saw  cause,  *  I  do  not  desire  your 
help  any  longer.*  On  these  terms,  and  no  other,  we  join- 
ed at  first ;  on  these  we  continue  joined.  They  do  me  no 
favor  in  being  directed  by  me.  It  is  true  my  reward  is 
with  the  Lord ;  but  at  present  I  have  nothing  from  it  but 
trouble  and  care,  and  often  a  burden  I  scarce  know  how 
to  bear." 

His  power  over  the  Conference  he  rested  upon  the  same 
plea  of  prescription ;  but  it  had  originated  with  himself ; 
not  like  his  authority  over  the  preachers  and  the  laity,  in  a 
voluntary  offer  of  obedience.    He,  of  his  own  impulse,  had 


88 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


invited  several  clergymen,  who  acted  vv^itli  him,  and  all  the 
lay  preachers  who  at  that  time  served  him  as  sons  in  the 
gospel,  to  meet  and  advise  with  him.  "  They  did  not  desire 
5ie  meeting,"  said  he,  '*  but  I  did,  knowing  that,  in  a  mul- 
titude of  counselors  there  is  safety.  And  when  their  num- 
ber increased,  so  that  it  was  neither  needful  nor  con- 
venient to  invite  them  all,  for  several  years,  I  wrote  to 
those  with  whom  I  desired  to  confer,  and  these  only  met 
at  the  place  appointed ;  till  at  length  I  gave  a  general  per- 
mission, that  all  who  desired  it  might  come.  Oberve:  I 
myself  sent  for  these,  of  my  own  free  choice  ;  and  I  sent 
for  them  to  advise,  not  govern  me.  Neither  did  I,  at  any 
of  those  times,  divest  myself  of  any  part  of  that  power 
which  the  providence  of  God  had  cast  upon  me,  without 
any  design  or  choice  of  mine.  What  is  that  power  %  It  is 
a  power  of  admitting  into,  and  excluding  from,  the  societies 
under  my  care ;  of  choosing  and  removing  stewards ;  of 
receiving,  or  not  receiving,  helpers  ;  of  appointing  them 
when,  where,  and  how  to  help  me  ;  and  of  desiring  any  of 
them  to  meet  me,  when  I  see  good.  And  as  it  was  merely 
in  obedience  to  the  providence  of  God,  and  for  the  good 
of  the  people,  that  I  at  first  accepted  this  power,  which  I 
never  sought — nay,  a  hundred  times  labored  to  throw  off — 
so  it  is  on  the  same  considerations,  not  for  profit,  honor, 
or  pleasure,  that  I  use  it  at  this  day." 

In  reference  to  himself,  as  the  person  in  whom  the 
whole  and  sole  authority  was  vested,  Wesley  called  his 
preachers  by  the  name  of  helpers ;  and  designated  as  as- 
sistants those  among  them  who,  for  the  duties  which  they 
discharge,  have  since  been  denominated  superintendents. 
It  soon  became  expedient  to  divide  the  country  into  cir- 
cuits. There  were,  in  the  year  1749,  twenty  in  England, 
two  in  Wales,  two  in  Scotland,  and  seven  in  Ireland.  In 
1791,  the  year  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  they  had  increased 
to  seventy-two  in  England,  three  in  Wales,  seven  in  Scot- 
land, and  twenty-eight  in  Ireland.  Every  circuit  had  a 
certain  number  of  preachers  appointed  to  it,  more  or  less, 
according  to  its  extent,  under  an  assistant,  whose  office  it 
was  to  admit  or  expel  members,  take  lists  of  the  societies 
at  Easter,  hold  quarterly  meetings,  visit  the  classes  quar- 
terly, keep  watch-nights  and  love-feasts,  superintend  the 
other  preachers,  and  regulate  the  whole  business  of  the  cir- 
cuit, spiritual  and  temporal. 

The  helpers  were  not  admitted  indiscriminately  :  gifts ^ 


DISCIPLINE  OP  THE  METHODISTS. 


89 


as  well  as  grace  for  the  work,  were  required.  An  aspirant 
was  first  examined  concerning  his  theological  knowledge, 
that  it  might  be  seen  whether  his  opinions  were  sound  ;  he 
was  then  to  exhibit  his  gift  of  utterance,  by  preaching 
before  Mr.  Wesley;  and  afterward  to  give,  either  orally 
or  in  writing,  his  reasons  for  thinking  that  he  was  called  of 
God  to  the  ministry.  The  best  proof  of  this  was,  that  some 
persons  should  have  been  convinced  of  sin,  and  converted 
by  his  preaching.  If  a  right  belief  and  a  ready  utterance 
were  found,  and  these  fruits  had  followed,  the  concurrence 
of  the  three  marks  was  deemed  sufficient  evidence  of  a 
divine  call :  he  was  admitted  on  probation  ;  with  a  caution, 
that  he  was  not  to  ramble  up  and  down,  but  to  go  where 
the  assistant  should  direct,  and  there  only  ;  and,  at  the 
ensuing  conference,  he  might  be  received  into  full  con- 
nection. After  a  while  the  time  of  probation  was  found 
too  short,  and  was  extended  to  four  years. 

The  rules  of  a  helper  are  strikingly  characteristic  of 
Wesley,  both  in  their  manner  and  their  spirit. 

1.  Be  diligent.  Never  be  unemployed  a  moment : 
never  be  triflingly  employed.  Never  while  away  time ; 
neither  spend  any  more  time  at  any  place  than  is  strictly 
necessary. 

2.  Be  serious.  Let  your  motto  be,  Holiness  to  the 
Lord.    Avoid  all  lightness,  jesting,  and  foolish  talking. 

3.  Converse  sparingly  and  cautiously  with  women  ;  par- 
ticularly with  young  women  in  private. 

4.  Take  no  step  toward  marriage  without  first  acquaint- 
ing us  with  your  design. 

5.  Believe  evil  of  no  one ;  unless  you  see  it  done,  take 
heed  how  you  credit  it.  Put  the  best  construction  on 
every  thing:  you  know  the  judge  is  always  supposed  to 
be  on  the  prisoner's  side. 

6.  Speak  evil  of  no  one ;  else  your  word,  especially, 
would  eat  as  doth  a  canker.  Keep  your  thoughts  within 
your  own  breast,  till  you  come  to  the  person  concerned. 

7.  Tell  every  one  what  you  think  wrong  in  him,  and 
that  plainly,  and  as  soon  as  may  be,  else  it  will  fester  in 
your  heart.  Make  all  haste  to  cast  the  fire  out  of  your 
bosom. 

8.  Do  not  affect  the  gentleman.  You  have  no  more  to 
do  with  this  character  than  with  that  of  a  dancing-master. 
A  preacher  of  the  gospel  is  the  servant  of  all. 

9.  Be  ashanaed  of  nothing  but  sin ;  not  of  fetching  wood 


90 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


(if  time  permit)  or  of  drawing  water;  not  of  cleaning 
your  own  shoes,  or  your  neighbor's.* 

10.  Be  punctual.  Do  every  thing  exactly  at  the  time  : 
and,  in  general,  do  not  mend  our  rules,  but  keep  them  ;  not 
for  wrath,  but  for  conscience'  sake. 

11.  You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  save  souls.  There- 
fore spend  and  be  spent  in  this  work.  And  go  always,  not 
only  to  those  who  want  you,  but  to  those  who  want  you 
most. 

12.  Act  in  all  things,  not  according  to  your  own  will, 
but  as  a  son  in  the  gospel.  As  such,  it  is  your  part  to 
employ  your  time  in  the  manner  which  we  direct ;  partly 
in  preaching,  and  visiting  the  flock,  from  house  to  house ; 
partly  in  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer.  Above  all,  if 
you  labor  with  us  in  our  Lord's  vineyard,  it  is  needful 
that  you  should  do  that  part  of  the  work  which  we  advise, 
at  tliose  times  and  places  which  we  judge  most  for  his 
glory." 

Thus  did  Wesley,  who  had  set  so  bad  an  example  of 
obedience,  exact  it  from  his  own  followers,  as  rigidly  as 
the  founder  of  a  monastic  order.  Like  those  founders, 
also,  he  invited  his  disciples  to  enter  upon  a  course  of 
life,  which  it  required  no  small  degree  of  enthusiasm  and 
of  resolution  to  embrace.  The  labor  was  hard,  the  pro- 
vision scanty,  and  the  prospect  for  those  who  were  super- 
annuated, or  worn  out  in  the  service,  was,  on  this  side  the 
gi'ave,  as  cheerless  as  it  well  could  be.  When  a  preacher 
was  admitted  into  full  connection,  he  paid  one  guinea,  and 
from  that  time  half-a-guinea  annually,  toward  the  preach- 
ers' fund.  If  he  withdrew  from  the  connection,  all  that 
he  had  subscribed  was  returned  to  him ;  but  if  he  lived  to 
be  disabled,  he  received  from  the  fund  an  annuity,  which 

*  "  Respecting  these  golden  rules,"  says  Mr.  Crowther,  "it  may  be 
proper  to  observe,  '  affecting  the  gentleman'  was  not  designed  to  coun- 
tenance clownishness,  or  any  thing  contrary  to  true  Christian  courtesy. 
And  when  it  is  said,  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  is  the  servant  of  all,  it 
certainly  was  not  meant  to  insinuate  that  a  preacher  was  to  be  set  to 
do  the  lowest  and  most  slavish  drudgery  which  any  person  could  find 
for  him  to  do.  I  presume  the  servant  of  God  is  the  servant  of  all  in 
gospel  labors,  and  in  nothing  else.  And  though  he  may  not  be  ashamed 
of  cleaning  his  own  shoes,  or  the  shoes  of  others,  yet,  I  apprehend, 
they  ought  to  be  '  ashamed'  who  would  expect  or  suffer  him  so  to  do, 
especially  such  as  are  instructed  and  profited  by  his  ministerial  labors. 
And  surely  they  ought  to  feel  some  shame,  also,  who  would  suffer  the 
preacher  to  go  from  place  to  place,  day  after  day,  with  his  shoes  and 
boots  uncleaned." — Portraiture  of  Methodism,  p.  277. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


91 


should  not  be  less  than  ten  pounds;  and  his  widow  was 
entitled  to  a  sum,  according  to  the  exigence  of  the  case, 
but  not  exceeding  forty. 

Some  of  the  itinerant  preachers,  at  one  time,  entered 
into  trade  :  the  propriety  of  this  was  discussed  in  Con- 
ference :  it  was  pronounced  evil  in  itself,  and  in  its  conse- 
quences, and  they  were  advised  to  give  up  every  business, 
except  the  ministry,  to  which  they  were  pledged.  There 
was  another  more  easy  and  tempting  way  of  eking  out 
their  scanty  stipends,  by  printing  their  own  spiritual 
effusions,  and  availing  themselves  of  the  opportunities 
afforded,  by  the  system  of  itinerancy,  for  selling  them. 
But  Mr.  Wesley  was  himself  a  most  voluminous  author 
and  compiler :  the  profits  arising  fi'om  his  publications 
were  applied  in  aid  of  the  expenses  of  the  society,  which 
increased  faster  than  their  means :  the  Methodists,  for  the 
most  part,  had  neither  time  to  spare  for  reading,  nor  money 
for  books  ;  and  the  preachers,  who  consulted  their  own 
individual  advantage,  in  this  manner,  injured  the  general 
fund,  in  proportion  as  they  were  successful ;  it  was  there- 
fore determined,  in  Conference,  that  no  preacher  should 
print  any  thing  without  Mr.  Wesley's  consent,  nor  till  it 
had  been  corrected  by  him.  The  productions  which  some 
of  them  had  set  forth,  both  in  verse  and  prose,  were  cen- 
sured as  having  brought  a  great  reproach  upon  the  society, 
and  **  much  hindered  the  spreading  of  more  profitable 
books  and  a  regulation  was  made,  that  the  profits,  even 
of  those  which  might  be  approved  and  licensed  by  the 
founder,  should  go  into  the  common  stock.  But  with  re- 
gard to  those  which  he  himself  had  published  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  society,  and  some  of  which,  he  said,  ought  to  be 
in  every  house,  Wesley  charged  the  preachers  to  exert 
themselves  in  finding  sale  for  them.  "  Carry  them  with 
you,"  said  he,  '*  through  every  round.  Exert  yourselves 
in  this :  be  not  ashamed ;  be  not  weary  ;  leave  no  stone 
unturned."  Being  cut  off  from  the  resources  of  author- 
ship, some  of  them  began  to  quack*  for  the  body  as  well 
as  the  soul ;  and  this  led  to  a  decision  in  Conference,  that 
no  preacher,  who  would  not  relinquish  his  trade  of  making 

*  The  Baptists  used  to  tolerate  such  quackery  in  their  ministers. 
Crosby,  in  his  history  of  that  sect,  contrived  to  inform  the  reader,  that 
he  continued  to  prepare  and  sell  a  certain  wonderful  tincture,  and  cer- 
tain sugar-plumbs  for  children,  "  which  have  been  found  to  bring  from 
them  many  strange  and  monstrous  worms." — Vol.  iii.,  p.  147. 


92 


DISCIPLINE   OF  THE  METHODISTS.' 


and  vending  pills,  drops,  balsams,  or  medicines  of  any  kind, 
should  be  considered  as  a  traveling  preacher  any  longer. 
If  their  wives  sold  these  things  at  home,  it  was  said  to  be 
well ;  but  it  is  not  proper  for  any  preacher  to  hawk 
them  about.  It  has  a  bad  appearance ;  it  does  not  well 
suit  the  dignity  of  his  calling." 

They  were  restricted  also  from  many  indulgences.  It 
was  not  in  Wesley's  power,  because  of  the  age  and  coun- 
try in  which  he  lived,  to  bind  his  preachers  to  a  prescribed 
mode  of  living  by  an  absolute  rule ;  but  he  attempted  to 
effect  it,  as  far  as  circumstances  would  allow.  They  were 
on  no  account  to  touch  snuff,  nor  to  taste  spirituous  liquors 
on  any  pretense.  **Do  you,"  said  he,  **  deny  yourselves 
every  useless  pleasure  of  sense,  imagination,  honor?  Are 
you  temperate  in  all  things  1  To  take  one  instance,  in 
food, — Do  you  use  only  that  kind,  and  that  degree,  which 
is  best  both  for  the  body  and  soul  ]  Do  you  see  the 
necessity  of  this  ]  Do  you  eat  no  flesh  suppers  ]  no  late 
suppers These  naturally  tend  to  destroy  bodily  health. 
Do  you  eat  only  three  meals  a-day  1  If  four,  are  you  not 
an  excellent  pattern  to  the  flock  ]  Do  you  take  no  more 
food  than  is  necessary  at  each  meal  ?  You  may  know,  if 
you  do,  by  a  load  at  your  stomach  ;  by  drowsiness  or 
heaviness ;  and,  in  a  while,  by  weak  or  bad  nerves.  Do 
you  use  only  that  kind  and  that  degree  of  drink  which  is 
best  both  for  your  body  and  soul  ?  Do  you  drink  water  ] 
Why  not  ]  Did  you  ever  ?  Why  did  you  leave  it  off,  if 
not  for  health  1  When  will  you  begin  again  1  to-day  1 
How  often  do  you  drink  wine  or  ale  1  Every  day  ]  Do 
you  want  or  waste  it He  declared  his  own  purpose,  of 
eating  only  vegetables  on  Fridays,  and  taking  only  toast 
and  water  in  the  morning ;  and  he  expected  the  preach- 
ers to  observe  the  same  kind  of  fast. 

The  course  of  life  which  was  prescribed  for  the  preach- 
ers left  them  little  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of  domestic 
life.  Home  could  scarcely  be  regarded  as  a  resting-place 
by  men  who  were  never  allowed  to  be  at  rest.  Wesley 
insisted  upon  a  frequent  and  regular  change  of  preachers, 
because  he  well  knew  that  the  attention  of  the  people  was 
always  excited  by  a  new  performer  in  the  pulpit.  **  I 
know,"  said  he,  **  were  I  to  preach  one  whole  year  in  one 
place,  I  should  preach  both  myself  and  my  congregation 
asleep.  Nor  can  I  believe  it  was  ever  the  will  of  the 
Lord  that  any  congregation  should  have  one  teacher  only. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


93 


We  have  found,  by  long  and  constant  experience,  that  a 
frequent  change  of  teachers  is  best.  This  preacher  has 
one  talent,  that  another.  No  one  whom  I  ever  yet  knew 
has  all  the  talents  which  are  needful  for  beginning,  continu- 
ing, and  perfecting  the  work  of  grace  in  a  whole  congre- 
gation."* The  institutions  of  the  Jesuits  allowed  an  itiner- 
ant father  of  the  company  to  remain  three  months  in  a  place, 
unless  any  other  term  were  specified  in  his  instructions  : 
but  Wesley  went  farther,  and  thought  it  injurious,  both  to 
the  preacher  and  people,  if  one  of  his  itinerants  should 
stay  six  or  eight  weeks  together  in  one  place.  **  Neither," 
said  he,  "  can  he  find  matter  for  preaching  every  morning 
and  evening ;  nor  will  the  people  come  to  hear  him. 
Hence  he  grows  cold  by  lying  in  bed,  and  so  do  the 
people  :  whereas,  if  he  never  stays  more  than  a  fortnight 
together  in  one  place,  he  may  find  matter  enough,  and  the 
people  will  gladly  hear  him."  These  frequent  changes 
were  so  gratifying  to  the  people,  that  the  trustees  of  a 
meeting-house  once  expressed  an  apprehension  lest  the 
Conference  should  impose  one  preacher  on  them  for  many 
years  ;  and,  to  guard  against  this,  a  provision  was  inserted 
in  the  deed,  that  "  the  same  preacher  should  not  be  sent, 
ordinaiily,  above  one,  never  above  two  years  together." 
There  may,  perhaps,  have  been  another  motive  in  Wes- 
ley's mind  :  a  preacher,  who  found  himself  comfortably 
settled,  with  a  congregation  to  whom  he  had  made  himself 
agreeable,  might  be  induced  to  take  root  there,  throw  off 
his  dependence  upon  the  connection,  and  set  up  a  meeting 
of  his  own.  Instances  of  such  defection  were  not  wanting, 
and  the  frequent  changet  of  preachers  was  the  likeliest 
means  of  preventing  them. 

No  preacher,  according  to  a  rule  laid  down  by  Confer- 
ence, was  to  preach  oftener  than  twice  on  a  week-day,  or 
three  times  on  the  Sabbath.  One  of  these  sermons  was 
always  to  be  at  five  in  the  morning,  whenever  twenty  hear- 
ers could  be  brought  together.  As  the  apostolic  Eliot  used 
to  say  to  students.  Look  to  it  that  ye  be  morning  birds  !  so 
Wesley  continually  inculcated  the  duty  of  early  rising,  as 
equally  good  for  body  and  soul.  "  It  helps  the  nerves," 
he  said,  "  better  than  a  thousand  medicines  ;  and  especially 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XIV.— ^m.  Ed.'\ 

t  "  The  people,^  says  Mr.  Crowther,  "  ought  to  get  great  good  from 
the  constant  change  of  the  preachers ;  for,  to  the  preachers,  it  is  pro- 
ductive of  many  inconveniences  and  painful  exercises.!' 


94 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


preserv^es  the  sight,  and  prevents  lowness  of  spirits.  Early 
preaching,"  he  said,  "  is  the  glory  of  the  Methodists. 
Whenever  this  is  dropped,  they  will  dwindle*  away  into 
nothing."  He  advised  his  preachers  to  begin  and  end  al- 
ways precisely  at  the  time  appointed,  and  always'to  con- 
clude the  service  in  about  an  hour  ;  to  suit  their  subject 
to  the  audience,  to  choose  the  plainest  texts,  and  keep 
close  to  the  text;  neither  rambling  from  it,  nor  allegoriz- 
ing, nor  spiritualizing  too  much.  More  than  once,  in  his 
Journal,  he  has  recorded  the  death  of  men  who  were  mar- 
tyrs to  long  and  loud  preaching,  and  he  frequently  cau- 
tioned his  followers  against  it.  To  one  of  them  he  says, 
in  a  curious  letter  of  advice,  which  he  desired  might  be 
taken  as  the  surest  mark  of  love,  "  Scream  no  more,  at  the 
peril  of  your  soul.  God  now  warns  you  by  me,  whom  he 
has  set  over  you.  Speak  as  earnestly  as  you  can,  but  do 
not  scream.  Speak  with  all  your  heart,  but  with  a  mod- 
erate voice.  It  was  said  of  our  Lord,  *  He  shall  not  cry:^ 
the  word  properly  means,  *  He  shall  not  scream.'  Herein 
be  a  follower  of  me,  as  I  am  of  Christ.  I  often  speak 
loud,  often  vehemently ;  but  I  never  scream.  I  never 
strain  myself:  I  dare  not.  I  know  it  would  be  a  sin  against 
God  and  my  own  soul."  They  were  instructed  also  not  to 
pray  above  eight  or  ten  minutes  at  most,  \vithout  intermis- 
sion, unless  for  some  pressing  reason. 

*  The  importance  which  he  attached  to  this  custom  appears  in  his 
Journal.  "  I  was  surprised  when  I  came  to  Chester,  to  find  that  there 
also  morning  preaching  was  quite  left  off;  for  this  worthy  reason,  be- 
cause the  people  will  not  come,  or,  at  least,  not  in  the  winter :  if  so, 
the  Methodists  are  a  fallen  people.  Here  is  proof:  they  have  lost  their 
first  love ;  and  they  never  will  or  can  recover  it  till  they  do  their  first 
works.  As  soon  as  I  set  foot  in  Georgia,  I  began  preaching  at  five  in 
the  morning ;  and  every  communicant,  that  is,  every  serious  person  in 
the  town,  constantly  attended  throughout  the  year :  I  mean,  came  eveiy 
morning,  ^vinter  and  summer,  unless  in  the  case  of  sickness.  They  did 
so  till  I  left  the  province.  In  the  year  1738,  when  God  began  his  great 
work  in  England,  I  began  preaching  at  the  same  hour,  winter  and  sum- 
mer, and  never  wanted  a  congregation.  If  they  will  not  attend  now, 
they  have  lost  their  zeal,  and  then,  it  can  not  be  denied,  they  are  a 
fallen  people ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  we  are  laboring  to  secure  the 
preaching-houses  to  the  next  generation !  In  the  name  of  God,  let  us, 
if  possible,  secure  the  present  generation  from  drawing  back  to  perdi- 
tion. Let  all  the  preachers,  that  are  still  alive  to  God,  join  together  as 
one  man,  fast  and  pray,  lift  up  their  voice  as  a  trumpet,  be  instant,  in 
season,  out  of  season,  to  con\"ince  them  they  are  fallen,  and  exhort 
them  instantly  to  repent  and  do  the  first  works ;  this  in  particular,  rising 
in  the  morning,  without  which  neither  their  souls  nor  bodies  can  long 
remain  in  health." 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


95 


Before  an  aspirant  was  admitted  upon  trial  as  an  itiner- 
ant, he  was  exercised  as  a  local  preacher ;  and  many  per- 
sons remained  contentedly  in  this  humbler  office,  which 
neither  took  them  from  their  families,  nor  interfered  with 
their  worldly  concerns.  They  carried  on  their  business, 
whatever  that  might  be,  six  days  in  the  week,  and  preached 
on  the  seventh :  but  no  person  was  admitted  to  this  rank, 
unless  he  were  thought  competent  by  the  preachers  of  the 
circuit.  The  places  which  they  were  to  visit  were  deter- 
mined by  the  assistant,  and  their  conduct  underwent  an  in- 
quiry every  quarter.  Without  their  aid,  Methodism  could 
not  have  been  kept  up  over  the  whole  country,  widely  as 
it  was  diffiised  ;  and  all  that  they  received  from  the  so- 
ciety was  a  little  refreshment,  at  the  cost  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  preached,  and  perhaps  the  hire  of  a  horse  for 
the  day. 

A  still  more  important  part  was  performed  by  the  lead- 
ers, who  are  to  Methodism  what  the  non-commissioned 
officers  are  in  an  army.  The  leader  was  appointed  by  the 
assistant :  it  was  his  business  regularly  to  meet  his  class, 
question  them,  in  order,  as  to  their  religious  affections  and 
practice,  and  advise,  caution,  or  reprove,  as  the  case  might 
require.  If  any  members  absented  themselves  from  the 
class-meeting,  he  was  to  visit  them,  and  inquire  into  the 
cause  ;  and  he  was  to  render  an  account  to  the  officiating 
preacher,  of  those  whose  conduct  appeared  suspicious,  or 
was  in  any  way  reprehensible.  By  this  means,  and  by  the 
class-paper  for  every  week,  which  the  leaders  were  required 
to  keep,  and  regularly  produce,  the  preachers  obtained  a 
knowledge  of  every  individual  member  within  their  circuit ; 
and,  by  the  class-tickets,  which  were  renewed  every  quar- 
ter, a  regular  census  of  the  society  was  effected.  The  lead- 
ers not  only  perfoiTned  the  office  of  drilling  the  young  re- 
cruits, they  acted  also  as  the  tax-gatherers,  and  received 
the  weekly  contributions,  of  their  class,  which  they  paid  to 
the  local  stewards,  and  the  local  stewards  to  the  steward 
of  the  circuit. 

Thus  far,  the  discipline  of  the  Methodists  was  well  de- 
vised :  if  the  system  itself  had  been  unexceptionable,  the 
spiritual  police  was  perfect.  But  they  were  divided  into 
bands  as  well  as  classes  ;  and  this  subdivision,  while  it  an- 
swered no  one  end  of  possible  utility,  led  to  something 
worse  than  the  worst  practice  of  the  Romish  church.  The 
men  and  the  women,  and  the  married  and  the  single,  met 


06 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


separately  in  these  bands,  for  the  purpose  of  confessing 
to  each  other.  They  engaged  to  meet  once  a-week  at 
least,  and  to  speak,  each  in  order,  freely  and  plainly,  the 
true  state  of  their  souls,  and  the  faults  they  had  committed, 
in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  and  the  temptations  they  had 
felt  during  the  week.  They  were  to  be  asked  "  as  many 
and  as  searching  questions  as  may  be,  concerning  their 
state,  sins,  and  temptations these  four,  in  particular,  at 
every  meeting  :  What  known  sin  have  you  committed  since 
our  last  meeting  1  What  temptations  have  you  met  with  ] 
How  was  you  delivered  ]  What  have  you  thought,  said, 
or  done,  of  which  you  doubt  whether  it  be  sin  or  not  1  And 
before  any  person  entered  into  one  of  these  bands,  a  prom- 
ise of  the  most  unreserved  openness  was  required.  "  Con- 
sider, do  you  desire  we  should  tell  you  whatsoever  we  think, 
whatsoever  we  fear,  whatsoever  we  hear,  concerning  you  ] 
Do  you  desire  that,  in  doing  this,  we  should  come  as  close 
as  possible,  that  we  should  cut  to  the  quick,  and  search  your 
heart  to  the  bottom  ?  Is  it  your  desire  and  design  to  be, 
on  this  and  all  other  occasions,  entirely  open,  so  as  to  speak 
every  thing  that  is  in  your  heart,  without  exception,  with- 
out disguise,  and  without  reserve  1"  The  nature,  and  the 
inevitable  tendency  of  this  mutual  inquisition,  must  be  ob- 
vious to  every  reflecting  mind  :  and  it  is  marvelous,  that 
any  man  should  have  pemiitted  his  wife*  or  his  daughter 
to  enter  into  these  bands,  where  it  is  not  possible  for  inno- 
cence to  escape  contamination.! 

The  institution  of  the  select  society  or  band  was  not  lia- 

*  Wesley  has  himself  recorded  an  instance  of  mischief  arising  from 
these  bands.  "  I  searched  to  the  bottom,"  says  he,  "  a  story  I  had 
heard  in  part,  and  found  it  another  tale  of  real  woe.  Two  of  our  so- 
ciety had  lived  together  in  uncommon  harmony,  when  one,  w^ho  met 
in  baud  with  E.  F.,  to  whom  she  had  mentioned  that  she  had  found  a 
temptation  toward  Dr.  F.,  went  and  told  her  husband  she  was  in  love 
with  him,  and  that  she  had  it  from  her  own  mouth.  The  spirit  of  jeal- 
ousy seized  him  in  a  moment,  and  utterly  took  away  his  reason.  And 
some  one  telling  him  his  wife  was  at  Dr.  F.'s,  on  whom  she  had  called 
that  afternoon,  he  took  a  great  stick,  and  ran  away,  and  meeting  her  in 
the  street,  called  out,  Strumpet!  strumpet!  and  struck  her  twice  or 
thrice.  He  is  now  thoroughly  convinced  of  her  innocence ;  but  the 
water  can  not  be  gathered  up  again.  He  sticks  there — '  I  do  thoroughly 
forgive  you,  but  I  can  never  love  you  more.'  "  After  such  an  example, 
Wesley  ought  to  have  abolished  this  part  of  his  institutions. 

t  In  one  of  his  letters,  Wesley  says,  "  I  believe  Miss  F.  thought  she 
felt  evil  before  she  did,  and  by  that  very  thought,  gave  occasion  to  its 
reentrance."  And  yet  he  did  not  perceive  the  danger  of  leading  his 
people  into  temptation,  by  making  them  recur  to  every  latent  thought 


DISCIPLINE  OP  THE  METHODISTS. 


97 


ble  to  the  same  objection.  This  was  to  consist  of  persons 
who  were  earnestly  athirst  for  the  full  image  of  God,  and 
of  those  who  continually  walked  in  the  light  of  God, 
having  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son :  in 
other  words,  of  those  who  had  attained  to  such  a  degree 
of  spiritual  pride,  that  they  professed  to  be  in  this  state — 
the  adepts  of  Methodism,  who  were  not  ashamed  to  take 
their  degree  as  perfect.  "  I  saw,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  it 
might  be  useful  to  give  some  advice  to  those  who  thus  con- 
tinued in  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  which  the  rest  of 
their  brethren  did  not  want,  and  probably  could  not  re- 
ceive. My  design  was  not  only  to  direct  them  how  to 
press  after  perfection,  to  exercise  their  every  grace,  and 
improve  every  talent  they  had  received,  and  to  incite  them 
to  love  one  another  more,  and  to  watch  more  carefully  over 
each  other;  but  also  to  have  a  select  company,  to  whom  I 
might  unbosom  myself  on  all  occasions,  without  reserve  ; 
and  whom  I  could  propose,  to  all  their  brethren,  as  pat- 
terns of  love,  of  holiness,  and  of  all  good  works.  They  had 
no  need  of  being  incumbered  with  many  rules,  having  the 
best  rule  of  all  in  their  hearts."  Nevertheless,  the  judi- 
cious injunction  was  given  them,  that  nothing  which  was 
spoken  at  their  meetings  should  be  spoken  again.  Wesley 
says,  he  often  felt  the  advantage  of  these  meetings:  he  ex- 
perienced there,  that  in  the  multitude  of  counselors  there  is 
safety.  But  they  placed  the  untenable  doctrine  of  perfec- 
tion in  so  obtrusive  and  obnoxious  a  light,  that  he  found  it 
difficult  to  maintain  them ;  and  they  seem  not  to  have  be- 
come a  regular  part  of  the  system. 

The  watch-night  was  another  of  Wesley's  objectionable 
institutions.  It  originated  with  some  reclaimed  colliers  of 
Kingswood,  who,  having  been  accustomed  to  sit  late  on 
Saturday  nights  at  the  ale-house,  transferred  their  weekly 
meeting,  after  their  conversion,  to  the  school-house,  and 
continued  there  praying  and  singing  hymns  far  into  the 
morning.    Wesley  was  advised  to  put  an  end  to  this :  but, 

of  evil;  and  compelling  them  to  utter,  with  their  lips,  imaginations 
which  might  otherwise  have  been  suppressed  within  their  hearts  for- 
ever ! 

[The  bands  were  a  part  of  Methodism  borrowed  from  the  Moravi- 
ans, and  in  their  nature  leaning  to  the  faults  of  that  system.  They 
were,  however,  rather  an  appendage  to  Methodism,  than  an  integral 
part  of  the  system,  as  no  one  is  required  to  belong  to  a  band.  As  to 
the  dreadful  evils  of  them,  it  is  all  a  bugbear  of  the  brain  of  the  poet 
laureate.  See  Appendix,  Note  XV.— 
VOL.  IL — E 


98 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


"upon  weighing  the  thing  thoroughly,  and  comparing  it 
with  the  practice  of  the  ancient  Christians,"  he  could  see 
no  cause  to  forbid  it ;  because  he  overlooked  the  difference 
between  their  times  and  his  own,  and  shut  his  eyes  to  the 
obvious  impropriety  of  midnight  meetings.  So  he  appointed 
them  to  be  held  once  a-month,  near  the  time  of  full  moon.  **  Ex- 
ceedingly great,"  says  he,  "  are  the  blessings  we  have  found 
therein  ;  it  has  generally  been  an  extremely  solemn  season, 
when  the  word  of  God  sunk  deeper  into  the  hearts  even  of 
those  who  till  then  knew  him  not.  If  it  be  said,  this  was  only 
owing  to  the  novelty  of  the  thing  (the  circumstance  which 
still  draws  such  multitudes  together  at  those  seasons),  or 
perhaps  to  the  awful  stillness  of  the  night,  I  am  not  careful 
to  answer  in  this  matter.  Be  it  so  :  however,  the  impres- 
sion then  made  on  many  souls  has  never  since  been  effaced. 
Now,  allowing  that  God  did  make  use  either  of  the  novel- 
ty, or  any  other  indifferent  circumstance,  in  order  to  bring 
sinners  to  repentance,  yet  they  are  brought,  and  herein  let 
us  rejoice  together.  Now,  may  I  not  put  the  case  further 
yet  1  If  I  can  probably  conjecture,  that  either  by  the  novelty 
of  this  ancient  custom,  or  by  any  other  indifferent  cir- 
cumstance, it  is  in  my  power  to  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  hide  a  multitude  of  sins,  am  I  clear  before  God  if 
I  do  not  ] — if  I  do  not  snatch  that  brand  out  of  the  burn- 
ingr 

The  practice  which  Wesley  thus  revived  had  been  dis- 
countenanced, even  in  the  most  superstitious  Catholic  coun- 
tries, for  its  inconvenience,  and  its  manifest  ill  tendency ; 
and  therefore  it  had  long  been  disused.  While  the  con- 
verts to  his  doctrine  retained  the  freshness  of  their  first 
impression,  watch-nights  served  to  keep  up  the  feeling  to 
the  pitch  at  which  he  wished  to  maintain  it;  and  if  any 
person,  who  was  almost  a  Methodist,  attended  one  of  these 
meetings,  the  circumstances  were  likely  to  complete  his 
conversion.  For  the  sake  of  these  advantages,  Wesley  dis- 
regarded the  scandal  which  this  part  of  his  institutions  was 
sure  to  occasion,  and  he  seems  not  to  have  considered  the 
effect  among  his  own  people,  when  their  first  fervor  should 
have  abated,  and  the  vigils  be  attended  as  a  mere  formality. 
He  also  appointed  three  love-feasts  in  a  quarter:  one  for 
the  men,  a  second  for  the  women,  and  the  third  for  both  to- 
gether; "that  we  might  together  eat  bread,"  he  says,  "as  the 
ancient  Christians  did,  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart. 
At  these  love-feasts  (so  we  termed  them,  retaining  the 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


09 


name,  as  well  as  the  thing,  which  was  in  use  from  the  be- 
ginning), our  food  is  only  a  little  plain  cake  and  water ;  but 
we  seldom  return  from  them  without  being  fed  not  only 
with  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  with  that  which  endureth 
to  everlasting  life."  A  traveling  preacher  presides  at  these 
meetings :  any  one  who  chooses  may  speak ;  and  the  time 
is  chiefly  employed  in  relating  what  they  call  their  Chris- 
tian experience.  In  this  point,  also,  Mr.  Wesley  disre- 
garded the  offense  which  he  gave,  by  renewing  a  practice 
that  had  notoriously  been  abolished  because  of  the  abuses 
to  which  it  led. 

It  can  not  be  supposed  that  a  man  of  his  sagacity  should 
have  overlooked  the  objections  to  which  such  meetings  as 
the  watch-nights  and  the  love-feasts  were  obnoxious  :  his 
temper  led  him  to  despise  and  to  defy  public  opinion ;  and 
he  saw  how  well  these  practices  accorded  with  the  inter- 
ests of  Methodism  as  a  separate  society.  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient for  such  a  society  that  its  members  should  possess  a 
calm,  settled  principle  of  religion  to  be  their  rule  of  life  and 
their  support  in  trial :  religion  must  be  made  a  thing  of 
sensation  and  passion,  craving  perpetually  for  sympathy 
and  stimulants,  instead  of  bringing  with  it  peace  and  con- 
tentment. The  quiet  regularity  of  domestic  devotion  must 
be  exchanged  for  public  performances ;  the  members  are 
to  be  'professors  of  religion;  they  must  have  a  part  to  act, 
which  will  at  once  gratify  the  sense  of  self-importance,  and 
afford  employment  for  the  uneasy  and  restless  spirit  with 
which  they  are  possessed,  Wesley  complained  that  family 
religion  was  the  grand  desideratum  among  the  Methodists  ; 
but,  in  reality,  his  institutions  were  such  as  to  leave  little 
time  for  it,  and  to  take  away  the  inclination,  by  making  it 
appear  flat  and  unprofitable,  after  the  excitement  of  class- 
meetings,  band-meetings,  love-feasts,  and  midnight  assem- 
blies.* 

Whenever  a  chapel  was  built,  care  was  taken  that  it 
should  be  settled  on  the  Methodist  plan ;  that  is,  that  the 
property  should  be  vested,  not  in  trustees,  but  in  Mr.  Wes- 
ley and  the  Conference.  The  usual  form  among  the  dis- 
senters would  have  been  fatal  to  the  general  scheme  of 
Methodism  ;  "  because,"  said  Wesley,  "  wherever  the  trus- 

*  [These  peculiarities  have  proved  themselves  to  be  at  once  the  glory 
and  the  strength  of  Methodism  :  and  as  to  the  scandal  so  much  depre- 
cated, it  has  not  been  found  in  the  practical  working  of  the  system.  "  To 
them  that  are  defiled  and  unbelieving  nothing  is  pure." — Am.  Ed."] 


100 


DIHCIPLIN^E  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


tees  exert  the  power  of  placing  and  displacing  preachers, 
there  itinerant  preaching  is  no  more.  When  they  have 
found  a  preacher  they  like,  the  rotation  is  at  an  end ;  at 
least  till  they  are  tired  of  him,  and  turn  him  out.  While 
he  stays,  the  bridle  is  in  his  mouth.  He  would  not  dare 
speak  the  full  and  the  whole  truth;  since,  if  he  displeased 
the  trustees,  he  would  be  liable  to  lose  his  bread ;  nor 
would  he  dare  expel  a  trustee,  though  ever  so  ungodly, 
from  the  society.  The  power  of  the  trustees  is  greater 
than  that  of  any  patron,  or  of  the  king  himself,  who  could 
fut  in  a  preacher,  but  could  not  put  him  out^  Thus  he 
argued,  when  a  chapel  at  Birstall  had  been  erroneously 
settled  upon  trustees  ;  and  the  importance  of  the  point  was 
felt  so  strongly  by  the  Conference,  that  it  was  determined, 
in  case  these  persons  would  not  allow  the  deed  to  be  can- 
celed, and  substitute  one  upon  the  Methodist  plan,  to  make 
a  collection  throughout  the  society,  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing ground  and  building  another  chapel  as  near  the 
one  in  question  as  possible. 

Wesley  never  wished  to  have  any  chapel  or  buria,l- 
gi'ound  consecrated  ;  such  ceremonies  he  thought  relics  of 
popery,  and  flatly  superstitious.  The  impossibility  of  hav- 
ing them  consecrated,  led  him,  perhaps,  to  consider  the  cer- 
emony in  this  light,  at  a  time  when  he  had  not  proceeded 
so  far  as  to  exercise  any  ecclesiastical  function  for  which 
he  was  not  properly  authorized.  The  buildings  themselves 
were  of  the  plainest  kind  :  it  was  difficult  to  raise  money* 
even  for  these  ;  but  Mr.  Wesley  had  the  happy  art  of  rep- 
resenting that  as  a  matter  of  principle  which  was  a  matter 
of  necessity ;  and,  in  the  tastelessness  of  their  chapels,  the 
Methodists  were  only  upon  a  level  with  the  dissenters  of 

*  The  history  of  one  of  these  chapels,  at  Sheemess,  is  curious.  "  It 
is  now  finished,"  says  Wesley,  in  his  Journal  for  1786,  "  but  by  means 
never  heard  of.  The  building  was  undertaken,  a  few  months  since,  by 
a  little  handful  of  men,  without  any  probable  means  of  finishing  it ;  but 
God  so  moved  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  the  dock,  that  even  those  who 
did  not  pretend  to  any  religion,  carpenters,  shipwrights,  laborers,  ran 
up  at  all  their  vacant  hours,  and  worked  with  all  their  might,  without 
any  pay.  By  these  means  a  large  square  house  was  soon  elegantly  fin- 
ished, both  within  and  without.  And  it  is  the  neatest  building,  next 
to  the  new  chapel  in  London,  of  any  in  the  south  of  England." 

A  meeting-house  at  Haslinden,  in  Lancashire,  was  built  for  them  on 
speculation,  by  a  person  not  connected  with  the  society  in  any  way. 
He  desired  only  three  per  cent,  for  what  he  laid  out  (about  £800), 

rovided  the  seats  let  for  so  much;  of  which,  says  Wesley,  there  is 

ttle  doubt.    This  was  in.l73a. 


DISCIPLINE   OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


101 


every  description.  The  octagon,*  which,  of  all  architect- 
ural forms,  is  the  ugliest,  he  preferred  to  any  other,  and 
wished  it  to  be  used  wherever  the  ground  would  permit ; 
but  it  has  not  been  generally  followed.  The  directions 
were,  that  the  windows  should  be  sashes,  opening  down- 
ward ;  that  there  should  be  no  tub-pulpits,  and  no  backs  to 
the  seats ;  and  that  the  men  and  women  should  sit  apart. 
A  few  years  before  his  death,  the  committee  in  London 
proposed  to  him  that  families  should  sit  together,  and  that 
private  pews  might  be  erected ;  **  thus,"  he  exclaims, 
"  overthrowing,  at  one  blow,  the  discipline  which  I  have 
been  establishing  for  fifty  years  I"  But,  upon  further  con- 
sideration, they  yielded  to  his  opinion. 

He  prided  himself  upon  the  singing  in  his  meeting- 
houses ;  there  was  a  talent  in  his  family  both  for  music 
and  verse  ;  and  he  availed  himself,  with  great  judgment,  of 
both.  A  collection  of  hymns  was  published  for  the  society, 
some  few  of  which  were  selected  from  various  authors; 
some  were  his  own  composition,  but  far  the  greater  part 
were  by  his  brother  Charles.  Perhaps  no  poems  have  ever 
been  so  devoutly  committed  to  memory  as  these,  nor  quoted 
so  often  upon  a  death-bed.  The  manner  in  which  they 
were  sung  tended  to  impress  them  strongly  on  the  mind  : 
the  tune  was  made  wholly  subservient  to  the  words,  not 
the  words  to  the  tune.f 

The  Romanists  are  indebted  for  their  church-music  to 
the  Benedictines,  an  order  to  which  all  Europe  is  so  deep- 
ly indebted  for  many  things.  Our  fine  cathedral  service  is 
derived  from  them  :  may  it  continue  forever  !  The  psalm- 
ody of  our  churches  was  a  popular  innovation,  during  the 

♦  His  predilection  for  this  form  seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  sight  of 
the  Unitarian  meeting-house  at  Norwich,  "  perhaps,"  he  says,  "  the  most 
elegant  one  in  Europe.  It  is  eight-square,  built  of  the  finest  brick,  with 
sixteen  sash  windows  below,  as  many  above,  and  eight  sky-lights  in  the 
dome,  which,  indeed,  are  purely  ornamental.  The  inside  is  finished  in 
the  highest  taste,  and  is  as  clean  as  any  nobleman's  saloon.  The  com- 
munion-table is  fine  mahogany ;  the  very  latches  of  the  pew-doors  are 
polished  brass.  How  can  it  be  thought  that  the  old  coarse  Gospel 
should  find  admission  here?"  The  sort  of  humility  which  is  implied 
in  this  sneer,  is  well  charactered  by  Landor,  when  he  calls  it 
"  A  tattered  garb  that  pride  wears  when  deform'd." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  he  was  struck  by  the  cleanness  of  the  chapel. 
This  curious  item  occurs  in  the  minutes  of  Conference  for  1776.  "  Q. 
23.  Complaint  is  made  that  sluts  spoil  our  houses.  How  can  we  pre- 
vent this  ?    A.  Let  no  known  slut  live  in  any  of  them." 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  XVI.— ^w.  Ed-^ 


102 


DISCIPLINE    OF   THE  METHODISTS. 


first  years  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  the  psalms  of  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins  were  allowed*  to  be  sung,  not  enjoined. 
The  practice,  however,  obtained  ;  and  having  contributed 
in  no  slight  measure  to  the  religious  revolution  when  the 
passion  wherein  it  originated  was  gone  by,  it  became  a 
mere  interlude  in  the  service,  serving  no  other  purpose 
than  that  of  allowing  a  little  breathing-time  to  the  minis- 
ter; and  the  manner  in  which  this  intei-\"al  is  filled,  where 
there  is  no  organ  to  supply  the  want  of  singers,  or  cover 
their  defects,  is  too  often  irreverent  and  disgraceful.  Aware 
of  the  great  advantage  to  be  derived  from  psalmody,  and 
with  an  ear,  as  well  as  an  understanding,  alive  to  its  abase, 
Wesley  made  it  an  essential  part  of  the  devotional  service 
in  his  chapels  ;  and  he  triumphantly  contrasted  the  prac- 
tice of  his  people,  in  this  respect,  with  that  of  the  churches. 
*'  Their  solemn  addresses  to  God,"  said  he,  "  are  not  inter- 
rupted either  by  the  formal  drawl  of  a  parish-clerk,  the 
screaming  of  boys,  who  bawl  out  what  they  neither  feel 
nor  understand,  or  the  unseasonable  and  unmeaning  im- 
pertinence of  a  voluntary  on  the  organ. t  When  it  is  sea- 
sonable to  sing  praise  to  God,  they  do  it  with  the  spirit 
and  the  understanding  also ;  not  in  the  miserable,  scanda- 
lous doggerel  of  Hopkins  and  Stemhold,|  but  in  psalms 
and  hymns,  which  are  both  sense  and  poetry,  such  as 
would  sooner  provoke  a  critic  to  turn  Christian,  than  a 
Christian  to  turn  critic.  What  they  sing  is,  therefore,  a 
proper  continuation  of  the  spiritual  and  reasonable  serv- 
ice, being  selected  for  that  end  ;  not  by  a  poor  humdrum 
wretch,  who  can  scarcely  read  what  he  drones  out  with 
such  an  air  of  importance,  but  by  one  who  knows  what  he 

*  "  Those  who  have  searched  into  the  matter  with  the  utmost  care 
and  curiosity,"  says  Collier  (vol.  ii.,  326).  "could  never  discover  any 
authority,  either  from  the  crow-n  or  the  convocation." 

t  Yet  Wesley  has  noticed  that  he  once  found  at  church  an  uncommon 
blessing,  when  he  least  of  all  expected  it^  namely,  "while  the  organ- 
ist was  playing  a  voluntary." 

X  I  have  lately  looked  into  Hopkins  and  Stemhold  ;  and  though  I 
can  not  pretend  that  it  is  not  "  coarse  frieze,"  or  that  a  more  dignified 
metrical  version  is  not  a  desideratum ;  yet  I  do  say  that  it  does  not 
merit  the  harsh  description  of  "  miserable,  scandalous  doggerel,"  and 
that  Stemhold  and  Hopkins  are  David  and  Asoph  themselves,  compared 
with  Tate  and  Brady.  There  is  assuredly  a  becoming  dignity  in  the 
ba\-ing  the  Scripture  itself  sung,  that  fits  a  national  church ;  but  yet  I 
can  not  blind  myself  to  the  superior  edification  and  generality  of  Christ- 
ian hjTnns,  especially  such  as  are  Davia  Evangilizans,  i.  e.,  the  psalms 
interpreted. — S.  T.  C. 


DISCIPLINE    OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


103 


is  about,  and  how  to  connect  the  preceding  with  the  follow- 
ing part  of  the  service.  Nor  does  he  take  just  *  two  staves;' 
but  more  or  less,  as  may  best  raise  the  soul  to  God  ;  espe- 
cially when  sung  in  well  composed  and  well  adapted  tunes; 
not  by  a  handful  of  wild  unawakened  striplings,  but  by  a 
whole  serious  congregation  ;  and  these  not  lolling  at  ease, 
or  in  the  indecent  posture  of  sitting,  drawling  out  one  word 
after  another;  but  all  standing  before  God,  and  praising 
him  lustily,  and  with  a  good  courage."  He  especially  en- 
joined that  the  whole  congregation  should  sing,  that  there 
should  be  no  repetition  of  words,  no  dwelling  upon  dis- 
jointed syllables,  and  that  they  should  not  sing  in  parts, 
but  with  one  heart  and  voice,  in  one  simultaneous  and  un- 
interrupted feeling.* 

The  preachers  were  forbidden  to  introduce  any  hymns 
of  their  own  composing :  in  other  respects  they  had  great 
latitude  allowed  them  :  they  might  use  the  Liturgy,  if  they 
pleased,  or  an  abridgment  of  it,  which  Mr.  Wesley  had 
set  forth  ;  or  they  might  discard  it  altogether,  and  substi- 
tute an  extemporaneous  service,  according  to  their  own 
taste  and  that  of  the  congregation.  Like  the  Jesuits,  in 
this  respect,  they  were  to  adapt  themselves  to  all  men. 
The  service  was  not  long :  Wesley  generally  concluded  it 
within  the  hour.f 

*  This  feeling,  however,  must  have  been  disturbed  in  a  strange  man- 
ner, if  the  preachers  observed  the  directions  of  the  first  Conference,  to 
guard  against  formality  in  singing,  by  often  stopping  short,  and  asking 
the  people,  "Now,  do  you  know  what  you  said  last?  Did  you  speak 
no  more  than  you  felt?  Did  you  sing  it  as  unto  the  Lord,  wdth  the 
spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also  ?" 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  XVII.— ^m.  Ed.'] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


METHODISM  IN  WALES  AND  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Upon  Wesley's  first  journey  into  Wales,  he  thought  that 
most  of  the  inhabitants  were  indeed  ripe  for  the  Gospel. 
*'  I  mean,"  says  he,  "  if  the  expression  appear  strange,  they 
are  earnestly  desirous  of  being  instructed  in  it ;  and  as 
utterly  ignorant  of  it  they  are  as  any  Creek  or  Cherokee 
Indian.  I  do  not  mean  they  are  ignorant  of  the  name  of 
Christ :  many  of  them  can  say  both  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
the  Belief ;  nay,  and  some  all  the  Catechism  :  but  take 
them  out  of  the  road  of  what  they  have  learned  by  rote, 
and  they  know  no  more  (nine  in  ten  of  those  with  whom 
I  conversed)  either  of  Gospel  salvation,  or  of  that  faith 
whereby  alone  we  can  be  saved,  than  Chicali  or  Tomo 
Chichi."  This  opinion  was  foraied  during  a  journey 
through  the  most  civilized  part  of  South  Wales.  He  was 
not  deceived  in  judging  that  the  Welsh  were  a  people 
highly  susceptible  of  such  impressions  as  he  designed  to 
make  ;  but  he  found  himself  disabled  in  his  progress,  by 
his  ignorance  of  their  language.  *'  Oh,"  he  exclaims, 
"  what  a  heavy  curse  was  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and 
how  grievous  are  the  effects  of  it.  All  the  birds  of  the  air, 
all  the  beasts  of  the  field,  understand  the  language  of  their 
own  species  ;  man  only  is  a  barbarian  to  man,  unintelligi- 
ble to  his  own  brethren  !"  This  difficulty  was  insuperable. 
He  found,  however,  a  few  Welsh  clergymen,  who  entered 
into  his  views  with  honest  ardor,  and  an  extravagance  of 
a  new  kind  grew  up  in  their  congregations.  After  the 
preaching  was  over,  any  one  who  pleased  gave  out  a  verse 
of  a  hymn  ;  and  this  they  sung  over  and  over  again,  with 
all  their  might  and  main,  thirty  or  forty  times,  till  some  of 
them  worked  themselves  into  a  sort  of  drunkenness  or 
madness :  they  were  then  violently  agitated,  and  leaped 
up  and  down,  in  all  manner  of  postures,  frequently  for 
hours  together.    "  I  think,"  says  Wesley,  "there  needs  no 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


105 


great  penetration  to  understand  this.  They  are  honest, 
upright  men,  who  really  feel  the  love  of  God  in  their 
hearts ;  but  they  have  little  experience  either  of  the  ways 
of  God  or  the  devices  of  Satan ;  so  he  serves  himself  by 
their  simplicity,  in  order  to  wear  them  out,  and  to  bring  a 
discredit  on  the  work  of  God."  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  Jumpers.* 

Ralph  and  Ebenezer  Erskine,  the  remarkable  men  who 
made  the  secession  from  the  Scotch  church,  invited  White- 
field  into  Scotland,  before  his  breach  with  Wesley.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  the  year  1741,  he  accepted  the  invitation  ; 
and  thinking  it  proper  that  they  should  have  the  first-fruits 
of  his  ministry  in  that  kingdom,  preached  his  first  sermon 
in  the  seceding  meeting-house  belonging  to  Ralph  Erskine, 
at  Dunfermline.  The  room  was  thronged ;  and  when  he 
had  named  his  text,  the  rustling  which  was  made  by  the 
congregation  opening  their  Bibles  all  at  once  surprised 
him,  who  had  never,  till  then,  witnessed  a  similar  practice. 
A  few  days  afterward  he  met  the  Associate  Presbytery  of 
the  Seceders,  by  their  own  desire ;  a  set  of  grave,  venera- 
ble men.  They  soon  proposed  to  form  themselves  into  a 
presbytery,  and  were  proceeding  to  choose  a  moderator, 
when  Mr.  Whitefield  asked  them  for  what  purpose  this 
was  to  be  done :  they  made  answer,  it  was  to  discourse 
and  set  him  right  about  the  matter  of  church  government, 
and  the  solemn  league  and  covenant.  Upon  this  Mr.  White- 
field  observed,  they  might  save  themselves  the  trouble,  for 
he  had  no  scruples  about  it ;  and  that  settling  church  gov- 
ernment, and  preaching  about  the  solemn  league  and  cove- 
nant, was  not  his  plan.  And  then  he  gave  them  some 
account  of  the  history  of  his  own  mind,  and  the  course  of 
action  in  which  he  was  engaged.  This,  however,  was  not 
satisfactory  to  the  Associate  Presbytery,  though  one  of  the 
synod  apologized  for  him,  urging  that,  as  he  had  been 
bred  and  bom  in  England,  and  had  never  studied  the 
point,  he  could  not  be  supposed  to  be  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  their  covenants,  and  therefore  they 
ought  to  have  patience  with  him.  This  was  of  no  avail : 
it  was  answered,  that  no  indulgence  could  be  shown  him ; 
for  England  had  revolted  most  with  respect  to  church 

*  "  At  seven  in  the  morning,"  says  Whitefield,  "  have  I  seen  perhaps 
ten  thousand,  from  different  parts,  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon,  crying, 
Qogunniant  bendyitti,  ready  to  leap  for  joy."  Had  they  been  repre- 
hended at  that  time,  this  extravagant  folly  might  have  been  preveuted, 

E* 


106 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


governmeTit,  and  that  he  could  not  but  be  acquainted  with 
the  matter  in  debate.  It  was  a  new  thing  for  Whitefield, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  homage  wherever  he 
went,,  to  be  schooled  in  this  manner  ;  but  he  bore  this 
arrogant  behavior  with  great  complacency,  and  replied, 
that  indeed  he  never  yet  had  studied  the  solemn  league 
and  covenant,  because  he  had  been  too  busy  about  things 
which,  in  his  judgment,  were  of  greater  importance.  Sev- 
eral of  them  then  cried  out,  that  every  pin  of  the  tabernacle 
was  precious.  Whitefield  was  ready  in  reply  :  he  told 
them  that,  in  every  building,  there  were  outside  and  inside 
workmen ;  that  the  latter  was  at  that  time  his  province  ; 
and  that,  if  they  thought  themselves  called  to  the  former, 
they  might  proceed  in  their  own  way,  as  he  would  do  in 
his.  The  power  of  these  persons,  happily,  was  not  so  in- 
quisitorial as  their  disposition ;  and  when  he  seriously 
asked  them  what  they  wished  him  to  do,  they  answered, 
that  they  did  not  desire  him  immediately  to  subscribe  to 
the  solemn  league  and  covenant,  but  that  he  would  preach 
for  them  exclusively  till  he  had  further  light.  "  And  why 
for  them  alone  ]"  he  inquired.  Ralph  Erskine  made  an- 
swer, "  They  were  the  Lord's  people."  "  I  then,"  says 
Whitefield,  "  asked,  whether  there  were  no  other  Lord's 
people  but  themselves  ]  and,  supposing  all  others  were  the 
devil's  people,  they  certainly,  I  told  them,  had  more  need 
to  be  preached  to  ;  and  therefore  I  was  more  and  more 
determined  to  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  ;  and 
that  if  the  Pope  himself  would  lend  me  his  pulpit,  I  would 
gladly  proclaim  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ  therein. 
Soon  after  this  the  company  broke  up  ;  and  one  of  these 
otherwise  venerable  men  immediately  went  into  the  meet- 
ing-house, and  preached  upon  these  words  :  *  Watchman, 
what  of  the  night  ]  Watchman,  what  of  the  night?  The 
watchman  said,  The  morning  cometh,  and  also  the  night ; 
if  ye  will  inquire,  inquire  ye  ;  return,  come.'  I  attended  : 
but  the  good  man  so  spent  himself,  in  the  former  part  of 
his  sermon,  in  talking  against  prelacy,  the  common  prayer- 
book,  the  surplice,  the  rose  in  the  hat,  and  such  like  exter- 
nals, that,  when  he  came  to  the  latter  part  of  his  text,  to 
invite  poor  sinners  to  Jesus  Christ,  his  breath  was  so  gone, 
that  he  could  scarce  be  heard.  What  a  pity  that  the  last 
was  not  first,  and  the  first  last !  The  consequence  of  all 
this  was  an  open  breach.  I  retired,  I  wept,  I  prayed,  and, 
after  preaching  in  the  fields,  sat  down  and  dined  with 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


107 


tliem,  and  then  took  a  final  leave.*  At  table,  a  gentle- 
woman said  she  had  heard  that  I  had  told  some  people 
that  the  Associate  Presbytery  were  building  a  Babel.  I 
said,  '  Madam,  it  is  quite  true  ;  and  I  believe  the  Babel 
will  soon  fall  down  about  their  ears.'  But  enough  of  this. 
Lord,  what  is  man — what  the  best  of  men — but  men  at  the 
best !" 

Coming  as  a  stranger  into  Scotland,  and  being  free 
from  all  prejudice  and  passion  upon  the  subject,  White- 
field  saw  the  folly  and  the  mischief  of  the  schisms  in  which 
his  new  acquaintance  were  engaged.  They  spared  no 
pains  to  win  him  over  to  their  side.  **  I  find,"  said  he, 
"  Satan  now  turns  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  and  stirs 
up  God's  children  to  tempt  me  to  come  over  to  some  par- 
ticular party."  To  one  of  his  correspondents  he  replies : 
"  I  wish  you  would  not  trouble  yourself  or  me  in  writing 
about  the  corruption  of  the  Church  of  England.  I  believe 
there  is  no  church  perfect  under  heaven  ;  but  as  God,  by 
his  providence,  is  pleased  to  send  me  forth  simply  to  preach 

*  In  honor  of  Whitefield,  I  annex  here  part  of  a  letter  upon  this 
subject,  written  a  few  days  after  this  curious  scene,  and  addressed  to  a 
son  of  one  of  the  Erskines.  "  The  treatment  I  met  with  from  the  As- 
sociate Presbytery  was  not  altogether  such  as  I  expected.  It  grieved 
me  as  much  as  it  did  you.  I  could  scarce  refrain  from  bursting  into 
a  flood  of  tears.  I  wish  all  were  like-minded  with  your  honored  father 
and  uncle  ;  matters  then  would  not  be  carried  on  with  so  high  a  hand. 
I  fear  they  are  led  too  much.  Supposing  the  scheme  of  government 
which  the  Associate  Presbytery  contend  for  to  be  scriptural,  yet  for- 
bearance and  long-suffering  is  to  be  exercised  toward  such  as  may 
differ  from  them  :  and,  I  am  verily  persuaded,  there  is  no  such  form  of 
government  prescribed  in  the  book  of  God,  as  excludes  a  toleration  of 
all  other  forms  whatsoever.  Was  the  New  Testament  outward  taber- 
nacle to  be  built  as  punctual  as  the  Old,  as  punctual  directions  would 
have  been  given  about  the  building  it:  whereas  it  is  only  deduced  by 
inference ;  and  thus  we  see  Independents,  Presbyterians,  and  Episco- 
palians bring  the  same  text  to  support  their  particular  scheme :  and  I 
believe  Jesus  Christ  thereby  would  teach  us  to  exercise  forbearance 
and  long-suffering  to  each  other.  Was  the  Associate  Presbytery  scheme 
to  take  effect,  out  of  conscience,  if  they  acted  consistently,  they  must 
restrain  and  grieve,  if  not  persecute,  many  of  God's  children,  who 
could  not  possibly  come  into  their  measures:  and  I  doubt  not  but 
their  present  violent  methods,  together  with  the  corruptions  of  that 
assembly,  will  cause  many  to  turn  Independents,  and  set  up  particular 
churches  of  their  own.  This  was  the  effect  of  Archbishop  Laud's 
acting  with  so  high  a  hand ;  and  whether  it  be  presbytery,  or  episco- 
pacy, if  managed  in  the  same  manner,  it  will  be  productive  of  the 
same  effects.  O,  dear  sir,  I  love  and  honor  your  pious  father.  Re- 
member me  in  the  kindest  manner  to  the  good  old  man.  I  pray  God 
his  last  days  may  not  be  employed  too  much  in  the  non-essentiala  of 
religion." 


108 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


the  Gospel  to  all,  I  think  there  is  no  need  of  casting  myself 
out."  He  was  invited  to  Aberdeen  by  the  minister  of  one 
of  the  kirks  in  that  city ;  but  the  minister's  co-pastor  had 
prepossessed  the  magistrates  against  him,  so  that  when  he 
arrived-  they  refused  to  let  him  preach  in  the  kirk-yard. 
They  had,  however,  sufficient  curiosity  to  attend  when  he 
officiated  in  his  friend's  pulpit ;  the  congregation  was  very 
large,  and,  in  Whitefield's  own  words,  *'  light  and  life  fled 
all  around."  In  the  afternoon  it  was  the  other  pastor's 
turn  :  he  began  his  prayers  as  usual ;  but,  in  the  midst  of 
them,  he  named  Whitefield  by  name,  whom  he  knew  to  be 
then  present,  and  entreated  the  Lord  to  forgive  the  dis- 
honor that  had  been  put  i^pon  him,  when  that  man  was 
suffered  to  preach  in  that  pulpit.  Not  satisfied  with  this, 
he  renewed  the  attack  in  his  sermon,  reminded  his  congre- 
gation that  this  person  was  a  curate  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  quoted  some  passages  from  his  first  printed 
discourses,  which  he  said  were  grossly  Arminian.  Most 
of  the  congregation,"  says  Whitefield,  "  seemed  surprised 
and  chagrined;  especially  his  good-natured  colleague,  who, 
immediately  after  sermon,  without  consulting  me  in  the 
least,  stood  up,  and  gave  notice  that  Mr.  Whitefield  would 
preach  in  about  half-an-hour.  The  intei-val  being  so  short, 
the  magistrates  returned  into  the  sessions-house,  and  the 
congregation  patiently  waited,  big  with  expectation  of 
hearing  my  resentment.  At  the  time  appointed  I  went 
up,  and  took  no  other  notice  of  the  good  man's  ill-timed 
zeal,  than  to  observe,  in  some  part  of  my  discourse,  that  if 
the  good  old  gentleman  had  seen  some  of  my  later  writings, 
wherein  I  had  corrected  several  of  my  former  mistakes, 
he  would  not  have  expressed  himself  in  such  strong  terms. 
The  people  being  thus  diverted  from  controversy  with 
man,  were  deeply  impressed  with  what  they  heard  from 
the  word  of  God.  All  was  hushed,  and  more  than  solemn. 
And  on  the  morrow  the  magistrates  sent  for  me,  expressed 
themselves  quite  concerned  at  the  treatment  I  had  met 
with,  and  begged  I  would  accept  of  the  freedom  of  the 
city."_ 

This  triumph  Whitefield  obtained,  as  much  by  that 
perfect  self-command  which  he  always  possessed  in  pub- 
lic, as  by  his  surpassing  oratory.  But  wherever  he  could 
obtain  a  hearing,  his  oratory  was  triumphant,  and  his 
success  in  Scotland  was,  in  some  respects,  greater  than  it 
had  yet  been  in  England.    "  Glory  be  to  God,"  he  says, 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


109 


"  he  is  doing  great  things  here.  I  walk  in  the  continual 
sunshine  of  his  countenance.  Congregations  consist  of 
many  thousands.  Never  did  I  see  so  many  Bibles,  nor 
people  look  into  them,  when  I  am  expounding,  with  such 
attention.  Plenty  of  tears  flow  from  the  hearers'  eyes.  I 
preach  twice  daily,  and  expound  at  private  houses  at  night ; 
and  am  employed  in  speaking  to  souls  under  distress  great 
part  of  the  day.  Every  morning  I  have  a  constant  levee 
of  wounded  souls,  many  of  whom  are  quite  slain  by  the 
law.  At  seven  in  the  morning  (this  was  at  Edinburgh)  we 
have  a  lecture  in  the  fields,  attended  not  only  by  the  com- 
mon people,  but  persons  of  great  rank.  I  have  reason  to 
think  several  of  the  latter  sort  are  coming  to  Jesus.  I 
am  only  afraid  lest  people  should  idolize  tne  instrument, 
and  not  look  enough  to  the  glorious  Jesus,  in  whom  alone 
I  desire  to  glory.  I  walk  continually  in  the  comforts  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  love  of  Christ  quite  strikes  me 
dumb.  O  grace,  grace  !  let  that  be  my  song."  In  Scot- 
land it  was  that  he  first  found  access  to  people  of  rank. 
"  Saints,"  says  he,  "  have  been  stirred  up  and  edified  ;  and 
many  others,  I  believe,  are  translated  from  darkness  to 
light,  and  from  the  kingdom  of  Satan  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  good  that  has  been  done  is  inexpressible.  I 
am  intimate  with  three  noblemen,  and  several  ladies  of 
quality,  who  have  a  great  liking  for  the  things  of  God.  I 
am  now  writing  in  an  earl's  house,  surrounded  with  fine 
furniture  ;  but,  glory  be  to  free  grace,  my  soul  is  in  love 
only  with  Jesus  !" 

His  exertions  increased  with  his  success.  "  Yesterday," 
he  says,  *'  I  preached  three  times,  and  lectured  at  night. 
This  day  Jesus  has  enabled  me  to  preach  seven  times  ; 
once  in  the  church,  twice  at  the  girls'  hospital,  once  in  the 
park,  once  at  the  old  people's  hospital,  and  afterward 
twice  at  a  private  house  :  notwithstanding,  I  am  now  as 
fresh  as  when  I  arose  in  the  morning  :  *  They  that  wait 
upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall 
mount  on  wings  like  eagles.'  It  would  delight  your  soul 
to  see  the  effects  of  the  power  of  God.  Both  in  the  church 
and  park  the  Lord  was  with  us.  The  girls  in  the  hospital 
were  exceedingly  afiected,  and  so  were  the  standers-by. 
One  of  the  mistresses  told  me,  she  is  now  awakened  in  the 
morning  by  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  ;  and  the  mas- 
ter of  the  boys  says,  that  they  meet  together  every  night 
to  sing  and  pray ;  and  when  he  goes  to  their  rooms  at 


110 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


night,  to  see  if  all  be  safe,  he  generally  disturbs  them  at 
their  devotions.  The  presence  of  God  at  the  old  people's 
hospital  was  really  very  wonderful.  The  Holy  Spirit 
seemed  to  come  down  like  a  mighty  rushing  wind.  The 
mourning  of  the  people  was  like  the  weeping  in  the  valley 
of  Hadad-Rimmon.  They  appear  more  and  more  hungry. 
Every  day  I  hear  of  some  fresh  good  wrought  by  the 
power  of  God.    I  scarce  know  how  to  leave  Scotland." 

The  representation  thus  given  by  this  remarkable  man, 
of  the  effect  which  his  preaching  produced  upon  all  ranks 
and  descriptions  of  people,  is  not  exaggerated.  Dr.  Frank- 
lin has  justly  observed,  that  it  would  have  been  fortunate 
for  his  reputation  if  he  had  left  no  written  works  ;  his  tal- 
ents would  then  have  been  estimated  by  the  effect  which 
they  are  known  to  have  produced  ;  for,  on  this  point,  there 
is  the  evidence  of  witnesses  whose  credibility  can  not  be 
disputed.  Whitefield's  writings,  of  every  kind,  are  cer- 
tainly below  mediocrity.  They  afford  the  measure  of  his 
knowledge  and  of  his  intellect,  but  not  of  his  genius  as  a 
preacher.  His  printed  sermons,  instead  of  being,  as  is 
usual,  the  most  elaborate  and  finished  discourses  of  their 
author,  have  indeed  the  disadvantage  of  being  precisely 
those  upon  which  the  least  care  had  been  bestowed.  This 
may  be  easily  explained. 

"  By  hearing  him  often,"  says  Franklin,  "  I  came  to 
distinguish  easily  between  sermons  newly  composed,  and 
those  which  he  had  often  preached  in  the  course  of  his 
travels.  His  delivery  of  the  latter  was  so  improved  by 
frequent  repetition,  that  every  accent,  every  emphasis, 
every  modulation  of  voice,  was  so  perfectly  well  turned, 
and  well  placed,  that,  without  being  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, one  could  not  help  being  pleased  with  the  discourse  : 
a  pleasure  of  much  the  same  kind  with  that  received  from 
an  excellent  piece  of  music.  This  is  an  advantage  itiner- 
ant preachers  have  over  those  who  are  stationary,  as  the 
latter  can  not  well  improve  their  delivery  of  a  sermon  by 
so  many  rehearsals."  It  was  a  great  advantage,  but  it  was 
not  the  only  one,  nor  the  greatest  which  he  derived  from 
repeating  his  discourses,  and  reciting  instead  of  reading 
them.  Had  they  been  delivered  from  a  written  copy,  one 
delivery  would  have  been  like  the  last ;  the  paper  would 
have  operated  like  a  spell,  from  which  he  could  not  de- 
part— invention  sleeping,  while  the  utterance  followed  the 
eye.    But  when  he  had  nothing  before  him  except  the 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


Ill 


audience  whom  he  was  addressing,  the  judgment  and  the 
imagination,  as  well  as  the  memory,  were  called  forth. 
Those  parts  were  omitted  which  had  been  felt  to  come 
feebly  from  the  tongue,  and  fall  heavily  upon  the  ear ;  and 
their  place  was  supplied  by  matter  newly  laid-in  in  the 
course  of  his  studies,  or  fresh  from  the  feeling  of  the 
moment.  They  who  lived  with  him  could  trace  him  in  his 
sermons  to  the  book  which  he  had  last  been  reading,  or 
the  subject  which  had  recently  taken  his  attention.  But 
the  salient  points  of  his  oratory  were  not  prepared  pass- 
ages,— they  were  bursts  of  passion,  like  jets  from  a  Gey- 
ser, when  the  spring  is  in  full  play. 

The  theatrical  talent  which  he  displayed  in  boyhood 
manifested  itself  strongly  in  his  oratory.  When  he  was 
about  to  preach,  whether  it  was  from  a  pulpit,  or  a  table 
in  the  streets,  or  a  rising  ground,  he  appeared  with  a  so- 
lemnity of  manner,  and  an  anxious  expression  of  counte- 
nance, that  seemed  to  show  how  deeply  he  was  possessed 
with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  what  he  was  about  to 
say.  His  elocution  was  perfect.  They  who  heard  him 
most  frequently  could  not  remember  that  he  ever  stumbled 
at  a  word,  or  hesitated  for  want  of  one.  He  never  falter- 
ed, unless  when  the  feeling  to  which  he  had  wrought  him- 
self overcame  him,  and  then  his  speech  was  interrupted  by 
a  flow  of  tears.  Sometimes  he  would  appear  to  lose  all 
self-command,  and  weep  exceedingly,  and  stamp  loudly 
and  passionately ;  and  sometimes  the  emotion  of  his  mind 
exhausted  him,  and  the  beholders  felt  a  momentary  appre- 
hension even  for  his  life.  And,  indeed,  it  is  said  that  the 
effect  of  this  vehemence  upon  his  bodily  frame  was  tre- 
mendous ;  that  he  usually  vomited  after  he  had  preached, 
and  sometimes  discharged,  in  this  manner,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  blood.  But  this  was  when  the  effort  was  over, 
and  nature  was  left  at  leisure  to  relieve  herself  While  he 
was  on  duty,  he  controlled  all  sense  of  infirmity  or  pain, 
and  made  his  advantage  of  the  passion  to  which  he  had 
given  way.  "  You  blame  me  for  weeping,"  he  would  say, 
but  how  can  I  help  it,  when  you  will  not  weep  for  your- 
selves, though  your  immortal  souls  are  upon  the  verge  of 
destruction,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  you  are  hearing  your 
last  sermon,  and  may  never  more  have  an  opportunity  to 
have  Christ  offei*ed  to  you  !" 

Sometimes  he  would  set  before  his  congregation  the 
agony  of  our  Savior,  as  though  the  scene  was  actually  be- 


112 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


fore  them.  "  Look  yonder !"  he  would  say,  stretching  out 
his  hand,  and  pointing  while  he  spoke,  "  what  is  it  that  I  see  ] 
It  is  my  agonizing  Lord  !    Hark,  hark  !  do  you  not  hear  1 — 

0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ! 
Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done  !"  This  he 
introduced  frequently  in  his  sermons  ;  and  one  who  lived 
with  him  says,  the  effect  was  not  destroyed  by  repetition ; 
even  to  those  who  knew  what  was  coming,  it  came  as  for- 
cibly as  if  they  had  never  heard  it  before.  In  this  respect 
it  was  like  fine  stage  acting  ;  and,  indeed,  Whitefield  in- 
dulged in  a  histrionic  manner  of  preaching,  which  would 
have  been  offensive,  if  it  had  not  been  rendered  admirable 
by  his  natural  gracefulness  and  inimitable  power.  Some- 
times, at  the  close  of  a  sermon,  he  would  personate  a  judge, 
about  to  perform  the  last  awful  part  of  his  office.  With 
his  eyes  full  of  tears,  and  an  emotion  that  made  his  speech 
falter,  after  a  pause  which  kept  the  whole  audience  in 
breathless  expectation  of  what  was  to  come,  he  would  say, 
"  I  am  now  going  to  put  on  my  condemning  cap.  Sinner, 

1  must  do  it  :  I  must  pronounce  sentence  upon  you  !"  and 
then,  in  a  tremendous  strain  of  eloquence,  describing  the 
eteiTial  punishment  of  the  wicked,  he  recited  the  words  of 
Christ,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  When  he  spoke 
of  St.  Peter,  how,  after  the  cock  crew,  he  went  out  and 
wept  bitterly,  he  had  a  fold  of  his  gown  ready,  in  which 
he  hid  his  face. 

Perfect  as  it  was,  histrionism  like  this  would  have  pro- 
duced no  lasting  effect  upon  the  mind,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  unaffected  earnestness  and  the  indubitable  sinceiity 
of  the  preacher,  which  equally  characterized  his  manner, 
whether  he  rose  to  the  height  of  passion  in  his  discourse, 
or  won  the  attention  of  the  motley  crowd  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  familiar  stories,  and  illustrations  adapted  to  the 
meanest  capacity.*  To  such  digressions  his  disposition  led 
him,  which  was  naturally  inclined  to  a  comic  playfulness. 

*  Wesley  says  of  him,  in  his  Journal,  "  How  wise  is  God,  in  giving 
different  talents  to  different  preachers  !  Even  the  httle  improprieties, 
both  of  his  lan^age  and  manner,  were  a  means  of  profiting  many,  who 
would  not  have  been  touched  by  a  more  correct  discourse,  or  a  more 
cahn  and  regular  manner  of  speaking."  St.  Augustin  somewhere  says, 
that  is  the  best  key  which  opens  the  door:  quid  enim  prodest  clavis 
aurea  si  aperire  quod  volumus  non  potest  1  aut  quod  obest  lignea,  si  hoe 
potest,  quando  nihil  qucerimus  nisi  patere  quod  clau  sum  est? — [See  Ap- 
pendix, Note  XVIII.— ^w.  Ed.] 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


113 


Minds  of  a  certain  power  will  sometimes  express  their 
strongest  feelings  with  a  levity  at  which  formalists  are 
shocked,  and  which  dull  men  are  wholly  unable  to  under- 
stand. But  language  which,  when,  coldly  repeated,  might 
seem  to  border  upon  irreverence  and  burlesque,  has  its 
effect  in  popular  preaching,  when  the  intention  of  the 
speaker  is  perfectly  understood :  it  is  suited  to  the  great 
mass  of  the  people ;  it  is  felt  by  them,  when  better  things 
would  have  produced  no  impression  ;  and  it  is  borne  away, 
when  wiser  arguments  would  have  been  forgotten.  There 
was  another  and  more  uncommon  way  in  which  Whitefield's 
peculiar  talent  sometimes  was  indulged  :  he  could  direct 
his  discourse  toward  an  individual  so  skillfully,  that  the 
congregation  had  no  suspicion  of  any  particular  purport  in 
that  part  of  the  sermon ;  while  the  person  at  whom  it  was 
aimed  felt  it,  as  it  was  directed,  in  its  full  force.  There 
was  sometimes  a  degree  of  sportiveness  almost  akin  to 
mischief  in  his  humor.* 

Remarkable  instances  are  related  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  impressed  his  hearers.  A  man  at  Exeter  stood 
with  stones  in  his  pocket,  and  one  in  his  hand,  ready  to 
throw  at  him ;  but  he  dropped  it  before  the  sermon  was 
far  advanced,  and  going  up  to  him  after  the  preaching  was 
over,  he  said,  "  Sir,  I  came  to  hear  you  with  an  intention 
to  break  your  head ;  but  God,  through  your  ministry,  has  giv- 
en me  a  broken  heart."  A  ship-builder  was  once  asked  what 
he  thought  of  him.    '*  Think  !"  he  replied,  "  I  tell  you,  sir, 

♦  Mr.  Winter  relates  a  curious  anecdote  of  his  preaching  at  a  maid- 
servant who  had  displeased  him  by  some  negligence  in  the  morning. 
"  In  the  evening,"  says  the  writer,  "  before  the  family  retired  to  rest, 
I  found  her  under  great  dejection,  the  reason  of  which  I  did  not  appre- 
hend ;  for  it  did  not  strike  me  that,  in  exemplifying  a  conduct  incon- 
sistent with  the  Christian's  professed  fidelity  to  his  Redeemer,  he  was 
drawing  it  from  remissness  of  duty  in  a  living  character ;  but  she  felt 
it  so  sensibly  as  to  be  greatly  distressed  by  it,  until  he  relieved  her  mind 
by  his  usually  amiable  deportment.  The  next  day,  being  about  to  leave 
town,  he  called  out  to  her  '  farewell she  did  not  make  her  appear- 
ance, which  he  remarked  to  a  female  friend  at  dinner,  who  replied, 
'  Sir,  you  have  exceedingly  wounded  poor  Betty.'  This  excited  in  him 
a  hearty  laugh ;  and  when  I  shut  the  coach-door  upon  him,  he  said, '  Be 
sure  to  remember  me  to  Betty ;  tell  her  the  account  is  settled,  and  that 
I  have  nothing  more  against  her.'  " 

Mr.  Thornton,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Powley  (Feb.  14,  1788),  speaking  of 
Mr.  Winter  as  "  one  whose  piety  and  judgment  he  had  a  great  opinion 
of,"  says,  "  he  traveled  with  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  was  promised  ordina- 
tion ;  but,  as  they  shuflBed  him  oflf,  he  was  necessitated  to  join  the  dis- 
senters." 


114 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


every  Sunday  that  I  go  to  my  parish  church,  I  can  build  a 
ship  from  stem  to  stern  under  the  sermon  ;  but,  were  it  to 
save  my  soul,  under  Mr.  Whitefield,  I  could  not  lay  a  sin- 
gle plank."  Hume  pronounced  him  the  most  ingenious 
preacher  he  had  ever  heard  ;  and  said,  it  was  worth  while 
to  go  twenty  miles  to  hear  him.*  But,  perhaps,  the  greatest 
proof  of  his  persuasive  powers  was,  when  he  drew  from 
Franklin's  pocket  the  money  which  that  clear,  cool  reas- 
oner  had  determined  not  to  give :  it  was  for  the  orphan- 
house  at  Savannah.  "  I  did  not,"  says  the  American  phi- 
losopher, "  disapprove  of  the  design  ;  but  as  Georgia  was 
then  destitute  of  materials  and  workmen,  and  it  was  pro- 
posed to  send  them  from  Philadelphia,  at  a  great  expense, 
I  thought  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  built  the  house 
at  Philadelphia,  and  brought  the  children  to  it.  This  I  ad- 
vised ;  but  he  was  resolute  in  his  first  project,  rejected  my 
counsel,  and  I  therefore  refused  to  contribute.  I  happen- 
ed, soon  after,  to  attend  one  of  his  sermons,  in  the  course 
of  which  I  perceived  he  intended  to  finish  with  a  collec- 
tion, and  I  silently  resolved  he  should  get  nothing  from 
me.  I  had  in  my  pocket  a  handful  of  copper  money,  three 
or  four  silver  dollars,  and  five  pistoles  in  gold.  As  he  pro- 
ceeded, I  began  to  soften,  and  concluded  to  give  the  cop- 
per; another  stroke  of  his  oratory  made  me  ashamed  of 
that,  and  determined  me  to  give  the  silver ;  and  he  finish- 
ed so  admirably,  that  I  emptied  my  pocket  wholly  into  the 
collector's  dish,  gold  and  all."t 

No  wonder  that  such  a  preacher  should  be  admired  and 

*  One  of  his  flights  of  oratory,  not  in  the  best  taste,  is  related  on 
Hume's  authority.  "  After  a  solemn  pause,  Mr.  Whitefield  thus  ad- 
dressed his  audience  : — The  attendant  angel  is  just  about  to  leave  the 
threshold,  and  ascend  to  Heaven;  and  shall  he  ascend  and  not  bear 
with  him  the  news  of  one  sinner,  among  all  the  multitude,  reclaimed 
from  the  error  of  his  ways !  To  ^ive  the  gi-eater  effect  to  this  exclama- 
tion, he  stamped  with  his  foot,  lilted  up  his  hands  and  eyes  to  Heaven, 
and  cried  aloud,  Stop,  Gabriel !  stop,  Gabriel !  stop,  ere  you  enter  the 
sacred  portals,  and  yet  carry  with  you  the  news  of  one  sinner  convert- 
ed to  God !"  Hume  said  this  address  was  accompanied  with  such  ani- 
mated, yet  natural  action,  that  it  surpassed  any  thing  he  ever  saw  or 
heard  in  any  other  preacher. 

t  "  At  this  sermon,"  continues  Franklin,  "  there  was  also  one  of  our 
club,  who,  being  of  my  sentiments  respecting  the  building  in  Georgia, 
and  suspecting  a  collection  might  be  intended,  had,  by  precaution,  emp- 
tied his  pockets  before  he  came  from  home:  toward  the  conclusion  of 
the  discourse,  however,  he  felt  a  strong  inclination  to  give,  and  applied 
to  a  neighbor,  who  stood  near  him,  to  lend  him  some  money  for  the 
purpose.    The  request  was  fortunately  made  to,  perhaps,  the  only  man 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


115 


followed  in  a  country  where  the  habits  of  the  people  were 
devotional.  On  his  second  visit  to  Scotland,  he  was  met 
on  the  shore  at  Leith  by  multitudes,  weeping  and  blessing 
him,  and  they  followed  his  coach  to  Edinburgh,  pressing 
to  welcome  him  when  he  alighted,  and  to  hold  him  in  their 
arms.  Seats,  with  awnings,  were  erected  in  the  park,  in 
the  form  of  an  amphitheater,  for  his  preaching.  Several 
youths  left  their  parents  and  masters  to  follow  him  as  his 
servants  and  children  in  the  Gospel;  but  he  had  sense 
enough  to  show  them  their  error,  and  send  them  back. 
The  effect  which  he  produced  was  maddening.  At  Cam- 
buslang  it  exceeded  any  thing  which  he  had  ever  witness- 
ed in  his  career,  *'  I  preached  at  two,"  he  says,  to  a  vast 
body  of  people,  and  at  six  in  the  evening,  and  again  at 
nine.  Such  a  commotion,  surely,  never  was  heard  of,  es- 
pecially at  eleven  at  night.  For  about  an  hour  and  a  half 
there  was  such  weeping,  so  many  falling  into  deep  distress, 
and  expressing  it  various  ways,  as  is  inexpressible.  The 
people  seem  to  be  slain  by  scores.  They  are  carried  off, 
and  come  into  the  house,  like  soldiers  wounded  in  and  car- 
ried off  a  field  of  battle.  Their  cries  and  agonies  are  ex- 
ceedingly affecting.  Mr.  M.  preached,  after  I  had  ended, 
till  past  one  in  the  morning,  and  then  could  scarce  persuade 
them  to  depart.  All  night,  in  the  fields,  might  be  heard 
the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise.  Some  young  ladies  were 
found  by  a  gentlewoman  praising  God  at  break  of  day  : 
she  went  and  joined  with  them."  Soon  afterward  he  re- 
turned there  to  assist  at  the  sacrament.  "  Scarce  ever," 
he  says,  "  was  such  a  sight  seen  in  Scotland.  There  were, 
undoubtedly,  upward  of  twenty  thousand  persons.  Two 
tents  were  set  up,  and  the  holy  sacrament  was  administer- 
ed in  the  fields.  When  I  began  to  serve  a  table,  the  power 
of  God  was  felt  by  numbers ;  but  the  people  crowded  so 
upon  me,  that  I  was  obliged  to  desist,  and  go  to  preach  at 
one  of  the  tents,  while  the  ministers  served  the  rest  of  the 
tables.  God  was  with  them,  and  with  his  people.  There 
was  preaching  all  day  by  one  or  another ;  and  in  the  even- 
ing, when  the  sacrament  was  ov-er,  at  the  request  of  the 
ministers,  I  preached  to  the  whole  congregation.  I  preach- 
ed about  an  hour  and  a  half.    Surely  it  was  a  time  much 

in  the  company  who  had  the  firmness  not  to  be  affected  by  the  preach- 
er His  answer  was,  '  At  any  other  time,  friend  Hopkinson,  I  would 
lend  to  thee  freely,  but  not  now ;  for  thee  seems  to  me  to  be  out  of  thy 
right  senses.' " 


116 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


to  be  remembered.  On  Monday  morning  I  preached  again 
to  near  as  many  ;  but  such  a  universal  stir  I  never  saw  be- 
fore. The  motion  fled  as  swift  as  lightning  from  one 
end  of  the  auditory  to  another.  Yon  might  have  seen 
thousands  bathed  in  tears  :  some  at  the  same  time  wring- 
ing their  hands,  others  almost  swooning,  and  others  crying 
out  and  mourning  over  a  pierced  Savior." 

The  Erskines  were  astonished  at  all  this.  One  of  the 
Associated  Presbytery  published  a  pamphlet  against  him, 
wherein,  with  the  true  virulence  of  bigotry,  he  ascribed 
these  things  to  the  influence  of  the  devil ;  and  the  heads 
of  the  Seceders  appointed  a  public  fast,  to  humble  them- 
selves for  his  being  in  Scotland,  whither  they  themselves 
had  invited  him,  and  for  what  they  termed  the  delusion  at 
Cambuslang.  They  might  have  so  called  it,  with  more 
propriety,  if  they  had  not  been  under  a  delusion  them- 
selves ;  for  Whitefield  perfectly  understood  their  feelings, 
when  he  said,  "  All  this,  because  I  would  not  consent  to 
preach  only  for  them  till  I  had  light  into,  and  could  take 
the  solemn  league  and  covenant !"  He  made  many  other 
visits  to  Scotland ;  and  there,  indeed,  he  seems  to  have 
obtained  that  introduction  to  persons  of  rank  which  in  its 
consequences  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  college  for 
Calvinistic  Methodism  in  England.  But  he  aimed  at  noth- 
ing more  than  could  be  produced  by  his  own  preaching : 
it  was  neither  congenial  to  his  talents  nor  his  views  to 
organize  a  body  of  followers  ;  and,  in  the  intervals  between 
his  visits,  the  seed  which  he  had  scattered  was  left  to  grow 
up  or  to  wither,  as  it  might. 

Wesley  had  other  views  :  his  aim,  wherever  he  went, 
was  to  form  a  society.  It  was  not  till  ten  years  after  his 
former  colleague  had  first  visited  Scotland,  that  he  resolved 
to  go  there.  A  reconciliation  had  then  taken  place  be- 
tween them — for  enmity  could  not  be  lasting  between  two 
men  who  knew  each  other's  sincerity  and  good  intentions 
so  well — and  Whitefield  would  have  dissuaded  him  from 
going.  "  You  have  no  business  there,"  he  said  ;  for 
your  principles  are  so  well  known,  that,  if  you  spoke  like 
an  angel,  none  would  hear  you  ;  and  if  they  did,  you 
would  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  dispute  with  one  and 
another  from  morning  to  night."  Wesley  replied,  "  If 
God  sends  me,  people  will  hear.  And  I  will  give  them  no 
provocation  to  dispute ;  for  I  will  studiously  avoid  contro- 
verted points,  and  keep  to  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christ- 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Ill 


ianity ;  and  if  any  still  begin  to  dispute,  they  may,  but  I 
will  not  dispute  with  them."  He  was,  however,  so  aware 
of  the  bitter  hostility  with  which  Arminian  principles  would 
be  received  in  Scotland,  that,  he  says,  when  he  went  into 
that  kingdom,  he  had  no  intention  of  preaching  there ;  nor 
did  he  imagine  that  any  person  would  desire  him  so  to  do. 
He  might  have  reckoned  with  more  confidence  upon  the 
curiosity  of  the  people.  He  was  invited  to  preach  at  Mus- 
selborough :  the  audience  remained  like  statues  from  the 
beginning  of  the  sermon  till  the  end,  and  he  flattered  him- 
self that  "the  prejudice  which  the  devil  had  been  several 
years  planting,  was  torn  up  by  the  roots  in  one  hour." 
From  this  time  Scotland  was  made  a  part  of  his  regular 
rounds.  "  Surely,"  says  he,  with  God  nothing  is  im- 
possible \  Who  would  have  believed,  five-and-twenty 
years  ago,  either  that  the  minister  would  have  desired 
it,  or  that  I  should  have  consented  to  preach  in  a  Scotch 
kirk  !" 

He  flattered  himself  egregiously  when  he  accepted  these 
beginnings  as  omens  of  good  success,  and  when  he  sup- 
posed that  the  prejudice  against  him  was  eradicated.  An 
old  Burgher  minister  at  Dalkeith  preached  against  him, 
afiinning  that,  if  he  died  in  his  present  sentiments,  he 
would  be  damned  ;  and  the  fanatic  declared  that  he  would 
stake  his  own  salvation  upon  it.  It  was  well  for  him  that 
these  people  were  not  armed  with  temporal  authority. 
*'  The  Seceders,"  says  Wesley,  "  who  have  fallen  in  my 
way,  are  more  uncharitable  than  the  Papists  themselves. 
I  never  yet  met  a  Papist  who  avowed  the  principle  of 
murdering  heretics.  But  a  Seceding  minister  being  asked, 
*  Would  not  you,  if  it  was  in  your  power,  cut  the  throats 
of  all  the  Methodists  V  replied  directly,  *  Why,  did  not 
Samuel  hew  Agag  in  pieces  before  the  Lord  V  I  have 
not  yet  met  a  Papist  in  this  kingdom  who  would  tell  me  to 
my  face,  all  but  themselves  must  be  damned  ;  but  I  have 
seen  Seceders  enough  who  make  no  scruple  to  affirm, 
none  but  themselves  could  be  saved.  And  this  is  the 
natural  consequence  of  their  doctrine  ;  for,  as  they  hold 
that  we  are  saved  by  faith  alone,  and  that  faith  is  the  hold- 
ing such  and  such  opinions,  it  follows,  all  who  do  not  hold 
those  opinions  have  no  faith,  and  therefore  can  not  be 
saved."  Even  Whitefield,  predestinarian  as  he  was,  was 
regarded  as  an  abomination  by  the  Seceders  :  how,  then, 
was  it  possible  that  they  should  tolerate  Wesley,  who 


118 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


taught  that  redemption  was  offered  to  all  mankind]*  A 
Methodist  one  day  comforted  a  poor  woman,  whose  child 
appeared  to  be  dying,  by  assuring  her  that,  for  an  infant, 
death  would  only  be  the  exchange  of  this  miserable  life  for 
a  happy  eternity ;  and  the  Seceder,  to  whose  flock  she 
belonged,  was  so  shocked  at  this  doctrine,  that  the  deep- 
dyed  Calvinist  devoted  the  next  Sabbath  to  the  task  of 
convincing  his  people,  that  the  souls  of  non-elect  infants 
were  doomed  to  certain  and  inevitable  damnation. 

But  it  was  Wesley's  fortune  to  meet  with  an  obstacle  in 
Scotland  more  fatal  to  Methodism  than  the  fiercest  opposi- 
tion would  have  been.  Had  his  followers  been  more  gen- 
erally opposed,  they  would  have  multiplied  faster :  oppo- 
sition would  have  inflamed  their  zeal ;  it  was  neglected, 
and  died  away.  From  time  to  time  he  complains,  in  his 
Journal,  of  the  cold  insensibility  of  the  people.  "  O,  what 
a  difference  is  there  between  the  living  stones,"  he  says, 
speaking  of  the  Northumbrians,  "  and  the  dead,  unfeeling 
multitudes  in  Scotland.  At  Dundee,"  he  observes,  "I 
admire  the  people ;  so  decent,  so  serious,  and  so  perfectly 
unconcemed  !"  "  At  Glasgow  I  preached  on  the  Old 
Green  to  a  people,  the  greatest  part  of  whom  hear  much, 
Itnoio  every  thing,  and  feel  nothing."  They  had  been 
startled  by  the  thunder  and  lightning  of  Whitefield's  ora- 
tory ;  but  they  were  as  unmoved  by  the  soft  persuasive 
rhetoric  of  Wesley,  as  by  one  of  their  own  Scotch  mists. 

Wesley  endeavored  to  account  for  this  mortifying  fail- 
ure, and  to  discover  "  what  could  be  the  reason  why  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  (who  does  nothing  without  a  cause)  was 
almost  entirely  stayed  in  Scotland."  He  imputed  it  to  the 
unwillingness  of  those,  who  were  otherwise  favorably  in- 
clined, to  admit  the  preaching  of  illiterate  men ;  and  to 
the  rude  bitterness  and  bigotry  of  those  who  regarded  an 
Arminian  as  an  Infidel,  and  the  Church  of  England  as  bad 
as  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  Scotch  bigots,  he  said,  were 
beyond  all  others.  He  answered,  before  a  large  congre- 
gation at  Dundee,  most  of  the  objections  which  had  been 
made  to  him.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, he  said,  but  he  loved  good  men  of  every  church. 

*  Not  only  Wesley,  but  his  biographer,  seems  to  make  a  difference 
where  I  can  find  none.  Surely  Whitefield  thought  it  his  duty  to  offer 
the  Gospel  to  all,  though  he  believed  it  foreseen  by  God  that  only  a 
certain  number  would  receive  it. — S.  T.  C. 

[Or  rather,  decreed,  by  God  that  only  a  certain  number  should  re- 
ceive it. — Am.  Ed.'] 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


119 


He  always  used  a  short  private  prayer  when  he  attended 
the  public  service  of  God  :  why  did  not  they  do  the  same  1 
Was  it  not  according  to  the  Bible  ]  He  stood  whenever 
he  was  singing  the  praises  of  God  in  public  :  were  there 
not  plain  precedents  for  this  in  Scripture  ]  He  always 
knelt  before  the  Lord  when  he  prayed  in  public ;  and 
generally,  in  public,  he  used  the  Lord's  prayer,  because 
Christ  has  taught  us,  when  we  pray,  to  say,  our  Father, 
which  art  in  heaven.  But  it  was  not  by  such  frivolous 
objections  as  these  that  the  success  of  Methodism  in  Scot- 
land was  impeded.  The  real  cause  of  its  failure  was,  that 
it  was  not  wanted — that  there  was  no  place  for  it :  the 
discipline  of  the  kirk  was  not  relaxed  ;  the  clergy  pos- 
sessed great  influence  over  their  parishioners  ;  the  children 
were  piously  brought  up  ;  the  population  had  not  out- 
grown the  church  establishment ;  and  the  Scotch,  above  all 
other  people,  deserved  the  praise  of  being  a  frugal,  indus- 
trious, and  religious  nation. 

Obvious  as  this  is,  Wesley  seems  not  to  have  perceived 
it :  and  it  is  evident  that  he  regarded  botli  the  forms  and 
discipline  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  with  a  disposition 
rather  to  detect  what  was  objectionable,  than  to  acknowl- 
edge what  was  good.*  '*  Lodging  with  a  sensible  man,"  he 
writes,  "  I  inquired  particularly  into  the  present  discipline 
of  the  Scotch  parishes.  In  one  parish,  it  seems,  there  are 
twelve  ruling  elders  ;  in  another,  there  are  fourteen.  And 
what  are  these  1  men  of  great  sense  and  deep  experience  1 
Neither  one  nor  the  other :  but  they  are  the  richest  men 
in  the  parish.  And  are  the  richest,  of  course,  the  best  and 
the  wisest  men  1  Does  the  Bible  teach  this  1  I  fear  not. 
What  manner  of  governors,  then,  will  these  be  ]  Why, 
they  are  generally  just  as  capable  of  governing  a  parish  as 
of  commanding  an  army  !"    Had  he  been  free  from  preju- 

*  One  of  his  charges  against  the  Scotch  clergy  was,  that  "  with  pride, 
bitterness,  and  bigotry,  self-indulgence  was  joined ;  self-denial  was  little 
taught  and  practiced.  It  is  well  if  some  of  them  did  not  despise,  or 
even  condemn,  all  self-denial  in  things  indifferent,  as  in  apparel  or  food, 
as  nearly  allied  to  popery."  (Jom-nal  x.,  p.  20.)  And  in  one  of  his 
sermons  he  says,  "  There  is  always  a  fast-day  in  the  week  preceding 
the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  (in  Scotland).  But  occasion- 
ally looking  into  a  book  of  accounts,  in  one  of  their  vestries,  I  observed 
so  much  set  down  for  the  dinners  of  the  ministers  on  the  fast-day  :  and 
I  am  infonned  there  is  the  same  article  in  them  all.  And  is  there  any 
doubt  but  that  the  people  fast  just  as  their  ministers  do  ?  But  what  a 
farce  is  this !  what  a  miserable  burlesque  upon  a  plain  Christian  duty !" 
(Works,  vol.  X.,  p.  419.) 


120 


METHODISM  IS  SCOTLAND. 


dice,  instead  of  being  led  away  by  an  abuse  of  words,  he 
would  have  perceived  how  the  fact  stood,  that  the  elders 
were  required  to  be  respectable  in  their  circumstances,  as 
well  as  in  character ;  and  that,  without  that  respectability, 
they  could  not  have  obtained  respect.  That  the  forms  of 
the  kirk,  or,  rather,  its  want  of  forms,  should  offend  him,  is 
not  surprising.  '*  O,"  he  cries,  "  what  a  difference  is  there 
between  the  English  and  the  Scotch  mode  of  burial !  The 
English  does  honor  to  human  nature,  and  even  to  the  poor 
remains  that  were  once  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  but 
when  I  see  in  Scotland  a  coffin  put  into  the  earth,  and 
covered  up  without  a  word  spoken,  it  reminds  me  of  what 
was  spoken  concerning  Jehoiakim,  He  shall  he  buried  with 
the  burial  of  an  ass''  It  was,  indeed,  no  proof  of  judg- 
ment, or  of  feeling,  to  reject  the  finest  and  most  affecting 
ritual  that  was  ever  composed — a  service  that  finds  its 
way  to  the  heart,  when  the  heart  stands  most  in  need  of 
such  consolation,  and  is  open  to  receive  it.  Yet  Wesley 
might  have  known,  that  the  silent  interment  of  the  Scotch 
is  not  without  solemnity;  and  in  their  lonely  burial-g-rounds, 
and  family  burial-places,  he  might  have  seen  something 
worthy  of  imitation  in  England. 

Writing  at  Glasgow,  he  says,  My  spirit  was  moved 
within  me  at  the  sermons  I  heard,  both  morning  and  after- 
noon. They  contained  much  truth,  but  were  no  more 
likely  to  awaken  one  soul  than  an  Italian  opera."  The 
truth  was,  that  he  did  not  understand  the  Scotch  character, 
and  therefore  condemned  the  practice  of  those  preachers 
who  did.  I  spoke  as  closely  as  I  could,"  he  says  of  his 
own  sermons,  "  and  made  a  pointed  application  to  the 
hearts  of  all  that  were  present.  I  am  convinced  this  is 
the  only  way  whereby  we  can  do  any  good  in  Scotland, 
This  very  day  I  heard  many  excellent  truths  delivered  in 
the  kirk ;  but  as  there  was  no  application,  it  was  likely  to 
do  as  much  good  as  the  singing  of  a  lark.  I  wonder  the 
pious  ministers  in  Scotland  are  not  sensible  of  this  :  they 
can  not  but  see  that  no  sinners  are  convinced  of  sin — none 
converted  to  God,  by  this  way  of  preaching.  How  strange 
is  it,  then,  that  neither  reason  nor  experience  teaches  them 
to  take  a  better  way  !"  They  aimed  at  no  such  effect.* 
The  new-birth  of  the  Methodists,  their  instantaneous  con- 
versions, their  assurance,  their  sanctification,  and  their 

•  No  ?    What  ?  not  to  convince  any  sinner  of  his  sins  T — S.  T-.  C. 


METHODIriM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


121 


perfection,  were  justly  regarded  as  extravagances  by  the 
Scotch  as  well  as  by  the  English  clergy. 

It  was  with  more  reason  that  Wesley  groaned  over  the 
manner  in  which  the  Reformation  had  been  effected  in 
Scotland  ;  and,  when  he  stood  amid  the  ruins  of  Aberbro- 
thock,  exclaimed,  "  God  deliver  us  from  reforming  mobs !" 
Nor  would  he  admit  of  the  apology  that  is  offered  for  such 
havoc,  and  for  the  character  of  John  Knox.  I  know," 
he  says,  "  it  is  commonly  said,  the  work  to  be  done  needed 
such  a  spirit.  Not  so  :  the  work  of  God  does  not,  can  not 
need  the  work  of  the  devil  to  forward  it.  And  a  calm, 
even  spirit  goes  through  rough  work  far  better  than  a  furi- 
ous one.  Although,  therefore,  God  did  use,  at  the  time  of 
the  Reformation,  sour,  overbearing,  passionate  men,  yet  he 
did  not  use  them  because  they  were  such,  but  notwithstand- 
ing they  were  so.  And  there  is  no  doubt  he  would  have 
used  them  much  more,  had  they  been  of  a  humbler,  milder 
spirit."  On  the  other  hand,  he  bore  testimony  to  the  re- 
markable decorum  with  which  public  worship  was  con- 
ducted by  the  Episcopalians  in  Scotland :  it  exceeded  any 
thing  which  he  had  seen  in  England;  and  he  admitted, 
that  even  his  own  congregations  did  not  come  up  to  it. 

He  did,  however,  this  justice  to  the  Scotch,  that  he  ac- 
knowledged they  were  never  offended  at  plain  dealing; 
and  that,  in  this  respect,  they  were  a  pattern  to  all  man- 
kind. Nor  did  he  ever  meet  with  the  slightest  molestation 
from  mobs,  or  the  slightest  insult.  One  day,  however,  a 
warrant  was  issued  against  him  at  Edinburgh,  by  the  sheriff, 
and  he  was  carried  to  a  house  adjoining  the  Tolbooth.  A 
certain  George  Sutherland,  who,  to  his  own  mishap,  had  at 
one  time  been  a  member  of  the  society,  had  deposed,  that 
Hugh  Sanderson,  one  of  John  Wesley's  preachers,  had 
taken  from  his  wife  one  hundred  pounds  in  money,  and  up- 
ward of  thirty  pounds  in  goods ;  and  had,  beside  that,  ter- 
rified her  into  madness ;  so  that,  through  the  want  of  her 
help,  and  the  loss  of  business,  he  was  damaged  five  hun- 
dred pounds.  He  had  deposed  also,  that  the  said  John 
Wesley  and  Hugh  Sanderson,  to  evade  his  pursuit,  were 
preparing  to  fly  the  country ;  and  upon  these  grounds  had 
obtained  a  warrant  to  search  for,  seize,  and  incarcerate 
them  in  the  Tolbooth,  till  they  should  find  security  for  their 
appearance.  The  sheriff,  with  great  indiscretion,  granted 
this  warrant  against  Wesley,  who  could  in  no  way  be  held 
legally  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  any  of  his  preachers ; 

VOL.  II. — F 


122 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


but  when  the  affair  was  tried,  the  accusation  was  proved  to 
be  so  false  and  calumnious,  that  the  persecutor  was  heavily- 
fined.* 

Looking  for  any  cause  of  failure,  rather  than  the  real 
one,i  Wesley  imputed  the  want  of  success  in  Scotland  to 
the  disposition  which  his  preachers  manifested  to  remain 
stationary  there.  We  are  not  called,"  he  says,  "  to  sit 
still  in  one  place :  it  is  neither  for  the  health  of  our  souls 
nor  bodies  :  we  will  have  traveling  preachers  in  Scotland, 
or  none.  I  will  serve  the  Scotch  as  we  do  the  English,  or 
leave  them.  While  I  live,  itinerant  preachers  shall  be  itin- 
erants, if  they  choose  to  remain  in  connection  with  us.  The 
thing  is  fixed  ;  the  manner  of  effecting  it,  is  to  be  consid-" 
ered."  But  here  lay  the  difficulty  :  for  the  spiritual  war- 
fare of  Methodism  was  carried  on  upon  the  principle  of 
deriving  means  from  its  conquests  ;  and  the  errant-preach- 
er who  failed  of  success  in  his  expeditions,  oftentimes  fast- 
ed, when  there  was  no  virtue  of  self-denial  in  the  compul- 
sory abstinence. 

A  curious  instance  of  this  occurred  in  the  case  of  Thomas 
Taylor,  one  of  those  preachers  who  tempered  zeal  with 
judgment,  and  who  found  means,  during  his  itinerancy,  by 
the  strictest  economy  of  time,  to  acquire  both  the  Greek 
and  Hebrew  languages.  This  person  was  appointed  to 
Glasgow.  He  had  gone  through  hard  service  in  Wales 
and  in  Ireland,  in  wild  countries,  and  among  wild  men  ; 
but  this  populous  city  presented  a  new  scene,  and  offered 
something  more  discouraging  than  either  bodily  fatigue  or 
bodily  danger.  There  were  no  Methodists  here,  no  place 
of  entertainment,  no  place  to  preach  in,  no  friend  with 
whom  to  communicate  :  it  was  a  hard  winter,  and  he  was 
in  a  strange  land.  Having,  however,  taken  a  lodging,  he 
gave  out  that  he  should  preach  on  the  Green ;  a  taWe  was 
carried  to  the  place,  and  going  there  at  the  appointed  time, 
he  found — two  barbers'  boys  and  two  old  women  waiting. 
"  My  very  soul,"  he  says,  **  sunk  within  me.  I  had  traveled 
by  land  and  by  water  near  six  hundred  miles  to  this  place, 
and  behold  my  congregation  !  None  but  they  who  have 
experienced  it,  can  tell  what  a  task  it  is  to  stand  out  in 
the  open  air  to  preach  to  nobody,  especially  in  such  a  place 

*  One  thousand  pounds,  says  Wesley,  in  his  Journal ;  and  omits  to 
add,  that  it  was  one  thousand  pounds  Scotch,  Anglice,  a  thousand  shil- 
lings. 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  XIX.— ^Im.  Ed.] 


METHODISM  IN  eCOTLANO. 


123 


as  Glasgow !"  Neverthelesg,  he  mounted  liis  table,  and 
began  to  sing:  the  singing  he  had  entirely  to  himself;  but 
perseverance  brought  about  him  some  two  hundred  poor 
people ;  and  continuing,  day  after  day,  he  collected  at  last 
large  audiences.  One  evening,  the  largest  congregation 
that  he  had  ever  seen  was  assembled.  His  table  was  too 
low ;  and  even  when  a  chair  was  placed  upon  it,  the  ros- 
trum was  still  not  sufficiently  elevated  for  the  multitudes 
who  surrounded  him  ;  so  he  mounted  upon  a  high  wall,  and 
cried  aloud,  "  The  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the 
dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live  !"  They  were  still  as  the  dead  ;  and  he 
conceived  great  hope,  from  the  profound  attention  with 
which  they  listened  ;  but  when  he  had  done,  he  says,  **  they 
made  a  lane  for  me  to  walk  through  the  huge  multitude, 
while  they  stood  staring  at  me,  but  no  one  said,  Where 
dwellest  thouf 

This  reception  brought  with  it  double  mortification — to 
the  body,  as  well  as  the  mind.  An  itinerant  always  count- 
ed upon  the  hospitality  of  his  flock,  and  stood,  indeed,  in 
need  of  it.  Taylor  had  every  thing  to  pay  for;  his  room, 
fire,  and  attendance  cost  him  three  shillings  per  week ;  his 
fare  was  poor  in  proportion  to  his  lodging  ;  and  to  keep  up 
his  credit  with  his  landlady,  he  often  committed  the  pious 
fraud  of  dressing  himself  as  if  he  were  going  out  to  dinner, 
and,  after  a  dry  walk,  returned  home  hungry.  He  never, 
in  all  the  rest  of  his  life,  kept  so  many  fast-days.  He  sold 
his  horse  :  this  resource,  however,  could  not  maintain  him 
long ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  his  distress,  a  demand  was  made 
upon  him  by  one  of  his  hearers,  which  was  not  likely  to 
give  him  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  national  character. 
This  man,  perceiving  that  Taylor  was  a  bad  singer,  and 
frequently  embarrassed  by  being  obliged  to  sing  the  Scotch 
version  (because  the  people  knew  nothing  of  the  Method- 
ist hymns),  offered  his  services  to  act  as  precentor,  and  lead 
off  the  psalms.  This  did  excellently  well,  till  he  brought 
in  a  bill  of  thirteen  and  fourpence  for  his  work,  which  was 
just  fourpence  a-time  :  the  poor  preacher  paid  the  demand, 
and  dismissed  him  and  the  Scotch  psalms  together.  Tay- 
lor's perseverance  was  not,  however,  wholly  lost.  Some 
dissenters  from  the  kirk  were  then  building  what  is  called 
in  Glasgow  a  Kirk  of  Relief,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing 
their  own  minister.  One  of  the  leading  men  had  become 
intimate  with  him,  and  offered  to  secure  him  a  majority  of 


124 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


the  voters.  This  was  no  ordinary  temptation  :  comfort, 
honor,  and  credit,  with  c£140  a-year,  in  exchange  for  hunger 
and  contempt ;  but  there  was  honor  also  on  the  other  side. 
The  preacher,  though  he  was  alone  in  Glasgow,  belonged 
to  a  well  organized  and  increasing  society,  where  he  had 
all  the  encouragement  of  cooperation,  friendship,  sympa- 
thy, and  applause.  He  rejected  the  offer  ;  and,  before  the 
spring,  he  formed  a  regular  society,  of  about  forty  persons, 
who  procured  a  place  to  meet  in,  and  furnished  it  with  a 
pulpit  and  seats.  "When  they  had  thus  housed  him,  they 
began  to  inquire  how  he  was  maintained  ;  if  he  had  an 
estate  ;  or  what  supplies  from  England.  He  then  explain- 
ed to  them  his  own  circumstances,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  preachers  were  supported,  by  small  contributions. 
This  necessary  part  of  the  Methodist  economy  was  cheer- 
fully established  among  them ;  and  when  he  departed,  he  left 
a  certain  provision  for  his  successor,  and  a  flock  of  seventy 
souls.  But  even  in  this  populous  city,  Wesley,  upon  his 
last  visit  to  Scotland,  when  his  venerable  age  alone  might 
have  made  him  an  object  of  curiosity  and  reasonable  won- 
der, attracted  few  hearers.  The  congregation,"  he  says, 
"was  miserably  small,  verifying  what  I  had  often  heard 
before,  that  the  Scotch  dearly  love  the  word  of  the  Lord — 
on  the  Lord's  day.  If  I  live  to  come  again,  I  will  take 
care  to  spend  only  the  Lord's  day  at  Glasgow. " 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


Melancholy  and  anomalous  as  the  civil  history  of 
Ireland  is,  its  religious  history  is  equally  mournful,  and 
not  less  strange.  Even  at  the  time  w^hen  it  was  called  the 
Island  of  Saints,  and  men  went  forth  from  its  monasteries 
to  be  missionaries,  not  of  monachism  alone,  but  of  litera- 
ture and  civilization,  the  mass  of  the  people  continued 
savage,  and  was  something  worse  than  heathen.  They 
accommodated  their  new  religion  to  their  own  propen- 
sities, with  a  perverted  ingenuity,  at  once  humorous  and 
detestable,  and  altogether  peculiar  to  themselves.  Thus, 
when  a  child  was  immersed  at  baptism,  it  was  customary 
not  to  dip  the  right  arm,  to  the  intent  that  he  might  strike 
a  more  deadly  and  ungracious  blow  therewith  ;  and  under 
an  opinion,  no  doubt,  that  the  rest  of  the  body  would  not 
be  responsible  at  the  resurrection,  for  any  thing  which  had 
been  committed  by  the  unbaptized  hand.  Thus,  too,  at 
the  baptism,  the  father  took  the  wolves  for  his  gossips ; 
and  thought  that,  by  this  profanation,  he  was  forming  an 
alliance,  both  for  himself  and  the  boy,  with  the  fiercest 
beasts  of  the  woods.  The  son  of  a  chief  was  baptized  in 
milk  ;  water  was  not  thought  good  enough,  and  whisky 
had  not  then  been  invented.  They  used  to  rob  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year,  as  a  point  of  devotion,  for  the  purpose 
of  laying  up  a  good  stock  of  plunder  against  Easter ;  and 
he  whose  spoils  enabled  him  to  furnish  the  best  entertain- 
ment at  that  time,  was  looked  upon  as  the  best  Christian, — 
so  they  robbed  in  emulation  of  each  other ;  and  recon- 
ciling their  habits  to  their  conscience,  with  a  hardihood 
beyond  that  of  the  boldest  casuists,  they  persuaded  them- 
selves, that  if  robbery,  murder,  and  rape  had  been  sins, 
Providence  would  never  put  such  temptations  in  their 
way  ;  nay,  that  the  sin  would  be,  if  they  were  so  ungrateful 
as  not  to  take  advantage  of  a  good  opportunity  when  it 
was  offered  them. 


126 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


These  things  would  appear  incredible,  if  they  were  not 
conformable  to  the  spirit  of  Irish  history,  fabulous  and  au- 
thentic. Yet  were  the  Irish,  beyond  all  other  people, 
passionately  attached  to  the  religion  wherein  they  were  so 
miserably  ill  instructed.  Whether  they  were  distinguished 
by  this  peculiar  attachment  to  their  church,  when  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Pope  was  acknowledged  throughout  Eu- 
rope, can  not  be  known,  and  may,  with  much  probability, 
be  doubted  :  this  is  evident,  that  it  must  have  acquired 
strength  and  inveteracy  when  it  became  a  principle  of  op- 
position to  their  rulers,  and  was  blended  with  their  hatred 
of  the  English,  who  so  little  understood  their  duty  and 
their  policy  as  conquerors,  that  they  neither  made  them- 
selves loved,  nor  feared,  nor  respected. 

Ireland  is  the  only  country  in  which  the  Reformation 
produced  nothing  but  evil.*  Protestant  Europe  has  been 
richly  repaid  for  the  long  calamities  of  that  great  revolu- 
tion, by  the  permanent  blessings  which  it  left  behind  ;  and 
even  among  those  nations  where  the  papal  superstition 
maintained  its  dominion  by  fire  and  sword,  an  important 
change  was  effected  in  the  lives  and  conduct  of  the  Romish 
clergy.  Ireland  alone  was  so  circumstanced,  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  deriving  any  advantage,  while  it  was  exposed 
to  all  the  evils  of  the  change.  The  work  of  sacrilege  and 
plunder  went  on  there  as  it  did  in  England  and  Scotland  ; 
but  the  language  of  the  people,  and  their  savage  state,  pre- 
cluded all  possibility  of  religious  improvement.  It  was 
not  till  nearly  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  that 
the  Bible  was  translated  into  Irish,  by  means  of  Bishop 
Bedell,  a  man  worthy  to  have  Sir  Heniy  Wotton  for  his 
patron,  and  Father  Paolo  Sarpi  for  his  friend.  The  church 
property  had  been  so  scandalously  plundered,  that  few 
parishest  could  afford  even  a  bare  subsistence  to  a  Prot- 
estant minister,  and  therefore  few  ministers  were  to  be 
found.  Meantime,  the  Romish  clergy  were  on  the  alert, 
and  they  were  powerfully  aided  by  a  continued  supply  of 
fellow-laborers  from  the  seminaries  established  in  the 
Spanish  dominions  ;  men  who,  by  their  temper  and  edu- 
cation, were  fitted  for  any  work  in  which  policy  might 
think  proper  to  employ  fanaticism.  The  Franciscans 
have  made  it  their  boast,  that  at  the  time  of  the  Irish 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XX.— Am.  Ed.-\ 

+  The  best  living  in  Conuaught  was  not  worth  more  than  forty  shil- 
lings a-year ;  and  some  were  as  low  as  sixteen. 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


127 


massacre  there  appeared  among  the  rebels  more  than 
six  hundred  Friars  Minorite,  who  had  been  instigating 
them  to  that  accursed  rebellion  while  living  among  them 
in  disguise. 

Charles  II.  restored  to  the  Irish  church  all  the  impro- 
priations and  portions  of  tithes  which  had  been  vested  in 
the  crown  ;  removing,  by  this  wise  and  meritorious  meas- 
ure, one  cause  of  its  inefficiency.  When,  in  the  succeed- 
ing reign,  the  civil  liberties  of  England  were  preserved  by 
the  Church  of  England,  the  burden  of  the  Revolution 
again  fell  upon  Ireland.  That  unhappy  country  became 
the  seat  of  war;  and  from  that  time  the  Irish  Catholics 
stood,  as  a  political  party,  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
French,  as  they  bad  done  during  Elizabeth's  reign  to  the 
Spaniards.  The  history  of  Ireland  is  little  else  but  a  his- 
tory of  crimes  and  of  misgovemment.  A  system  of  half- 
persecution  was  pursued,  at  once  odious  for  its  injustice, 
and  contemptible  for  its  inefficacy.  Good  principles  and 
generous  feelings  were  thereby  provoked  into  an  alliance 
with  superstition  and  priestcraft ;  and  the  priests,  whom 
the  law  recognized  only  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  them 
if  they  discharged  the  forms  of  their  office,  established  a 
more  absolute  dominion  over  the  minds  of  the  Irish  people 
than  was  possessed  by  the  clergy  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world. 

Half-a-century  of  peace  and  comparative  tranquillity, 
during  which  great  advances  were  made  in  trade,  pro- 
duced little  or  no  melioration  in  the  religious  state  of  the 
country.  Sectarians  of  every  kind,  descript  and  non- 
descript, had  been  introduced  in  Cromwell's  time ;  and 
what  proselytes  they  obtained  were  won  from  the  estab- 
lished church,  not  from  the  Catholics,  whom  both  the  dis- 
senters and  the  clergy  seem  to  have  considered  as  incon- 
vertible. In  truth,  the  higher  orders  were  armed  against 
all  conviction,  by  family  pride,  and  old  resentment,  and  the 
sense  of  their  wrongs  ;  while  the  great  body  of  the  native 
Irish  were  effectually  secured  by  their  language  and  their 
ignorance,  even  if  the  priests  had  been  less  vigilant  in  their 
duty,  and  the  Protestants  more  active  in  theirs.  Bishop 
Berkeley  (one  of  the  best,  wisest,  and  greatest  men  whom 
Ireland,  with  all  its  fertility  of  genius,  has  produced)  saw 
the  evil,  and  perceived  what  ought  to  be  the  remedy.  In 
that  admirable  little  book,  the  Querist,  from  which,  even 
at  this  day,  men  of  all  ranks,  from  the  manufacturer  to  the 


128 


METPIODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


Statesman,  may  derive  instruction,  it  is  asked  by  this  sa- 
gacious writer,  "  Whether  there  be  an  instance  of  a  people's 
being  converted,  in  a  Christian  sense,  otherwise  than  by 
preaching  to  them,  and  instructing  them  in  their  own  lan- 
guage ]  Whether  catechists,  in  the  Irish  tongue,  may  not 
easily  be  procured  and  subsisted  ?  and  w^hether  this  would 
not  be  the  most  practicable  means  for  converting  the  na- 
tives 1  Whether  it  be  not  of  great  advantage  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  that  she  hath  clergy  suited  to  all  ranks  of  men,  in 
gradual  subordination,  from  cardinals  down  to  mendicants  ] 
Whether  her  numerous  poor  clergy  are  not  very  useful  in 
missions,  and  of  much  influence  with  the  people  ]  Whether, 
in  defect  of  able  missionaries,  persons  conversant  in  low 
life,  and  speaking  the  Irish  tongue,  if  well  instructed  in 
the  first  principles  of  religion,  and  in  the  popish  contro- 
versy,— though,  for  the  rest,  on  a  level  with  the  parish 
clerks,  or  the  schoolmasters  of  charity-schools, — may  not 
be  fit  to  mix  with,  and  bring  over  our  poor,  illiterate  na- 
tives to  the  Established  Church  ]  Whether  it  is  not  to  be 
wished  that  some  parts  of  our  liturgy  and  homilies  were 
publicly  read  in  the  Irish  language  ]  and  whether,  in  these 
views,  it  may  not  be  right  to  breed  up  some  of  the  better 
sort  of  children  in  the  charity-schools,  and  qualify  them  for 
missionaries,  catechists,  and  readers  V  What  Berkeley  de- 
sired to  see,  Methodism  would  exactly  have  supplied,  could 
it  have  been  taken  into  the  service  of  the  Church  ;  and  this 
might  have  been  done  in  Ireland,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
follies  and  extravagances  by  which  it  had  rendered  itself 
obnoxious  in  England  at  its  commencement. 

Twelve  years  after  the  pubHcation  of  the  Querist,  John 
Wesley  landed  in  Dublin,  where  one  of  his  preachers,  by 
name  Williams,  had  formed  a  small  society.  The  curate 
of  St.  Mary's  lent  him  his  pulpit,  and  his  first  essay  was  not 
very  promising  ;  for  he  preached  from  it,  he  says,  to  as 
gay  and  senseless  a  congregation  as  he  had  ever  seen. 
The  clergyman  who  gave  this  proof  of  his  good-will  dis- 
approved, however,  of  his  employing  lay  preachers,  and  of 
his  preaching  anywhere  but  in  a  church  ;  and  told  him, 
that  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  was  resolved  to  suffer  no 
such  irregularities  in  his  diocese.  Wesley  therefore  called 
on  the  archbishop,  and  says,  that,  in  the  course  of  a  long 
conversation,  he  answered  abundance  of  objections  ;  some, 
perhaps,  he  removed  ;  and  if  he  did  not  succeed  in  per- 
suading the  prelate  of  the  utility  of  Methodism,  he  must 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


129 


certainly  have  satisfied  him  that  he  was  not  to  be  prevent- 
ed from  pursuing  his  own  course. 

Wesley's  first  impressions  of  the  Irish  were  very  favor- 
able :  a  people  so  generally  civil  he  had  never  seen,  either 
in  Europe  or  America.  Even  when  he  failed  to  impress 
them,  they  listened  respectfully.  "  Mockery,"  said  he, 
*'  is  not  the  custom  here  :  all  attend  to  what  is  spoken  in 
the  name  of  God.  They  do  not  understand  the  making 
sport  with  sacred  things  ;  so  that,  whether  they  approve 
or  not,  they  behave  with  seriousness."  He  even  thought 
that,  if  he  or  his  brother  could  have  remained  a  few  months 
at  Dublin,  they  might  have  formed  a  larger  society  than  in 
London,  the  people  in  general  being  of  a  more  teachable 
spirit  than  in  most  parts  of  England  ;  but,  on  that  very 
account,  he  observed,  they  must  be  watched  over  with 
more  care,  being  equally  susceptible  of  good  or  ill  im- 
pressions. "  What  a  nation,"  he  says,  *'  is  this  !  every 
man,  woman,  and  child,  except  a  few  of  the  great  vulgar, 
not  only  patiently,  but  gladly  suffer  the  work  of  exhorta- 
tion !"  And  he  called  them  an  immeasurably  loving 
people.  There  was,  indeed,  no  cause  to  complain  of  in- 
sensibility in  his  hearers,  as  in  Scotland.  He  excited  as 
much  curiosity  and  attention  as  he  could  desire ;  but  if 
Methodism  had  been  opposed  by  popular  outcry,  and  by 
mobs,  in  England,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  it  could 
proceed  without  molestation  in  Ireland.  In  Wesley's 
own  words,  "  the  roaring  lion  began  to  shake  himself  here 
also." 

The  Romish  priests  were  the  first  persons  to  take  the 
alarm.  One  of  them  would  sometimes  come,  when  a 
Methodist  was  preaching,  and  drive  away  his  hearers  like 
a  flock  of  sheep.  A  Catholic  mob  broke  into  their  room 
at  Dublin,  and  destroyed  every  thing  :  several  of  the  riot- 
ers were  apprehended,  but  the  grand  jury  threw  out  the 
bills  against  them  ;  for  there  were  but  too  many  of  the 
Protestants  who  thought  the  Methodists  fair  game.  It 
happened  that  Cennick,  preaching  on  Christmas-day,  took 
for  his  text  these  words,  from  St.  Luke's  Gospel :  "  And 
this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you  :  ye  shall  find  the  babe  wrap- 
ped in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger."  A  Catholic 
who  was  present,  and  to  whom  the  language  of  Scripture 
was  a  novelty,  thought  this  so  ludicrous,  that  he  called  the 
preacher  a  Swaddler,  in  derision;  and  this  unmeaning 
,word  became  the  nickname  of  the  Methodists,  and  had  all 


130 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


the  effect  of  the  most  opprobrious  appellation.  At  length, 
when  Charles  Wesley  was  at  Cork,  a  mob  was  raised 
against  him  and  his  followers  in  that  city,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  one  Nicholas  Butler,  who  went  about  the  streets 
dressed  in  a  clergyman's  gown  and  band,  with  a  Bible  in 
one  hand,  and  a  bundle  of  ballads  for  sale  in  the  other. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  blackguard  relied  upon  the 
approbation  and  encouragement  of  the  mayor ;  and  when 
that  magistrate  was  asked  whether  he  gave  Butler  leave  to 
beset  the  houses  of  the  Methodists  with  a  mob,  and  was  re- 
quired to  put  a  stop  to  the  riots,  he  replied,  that  he  neither 
gave  him  leave  nor  hindered  him  :  and  when,  with  much 
importunity,  a  man,  whose  house  was  attacked,  prevailed 
upon  him  to  repair  to  the  spot,  and,  as  he  supposed,  afford 
him  some  protection,  the  mayor  said  aloud,  in  the  midst  of 
the  rabble,  *'  It  is  your  own  fault,  for  entertaining  these 
preachers.  If  you  will  turn  them  out  of  your  house,  I  will 
engage  there  shall  be  no  more  harm  done  ;  but  if  you  will 
not  turn  them  out,  you  must  take  what  you  will  get." 
Upon  this  the  mob  set  up  a  huzza,  and  threw  stones  faster 
than  before.  The  poor  man  exclaimed,  "  This  is  fine 
usage  under  a  Protestant  government !  If  I  had  a  priest 
saying  mass  in  every  room  of  it,  my  house  would  not  be 
touched:"  to  which  the  mayor  made  answer,  that  "the 
priests  were  tolerated,  but  he  was  not." 

These  riots  continued  many  days.  The  mob  paraded 
the  streets,  armed  with  swords,  staves,  and  pistols,  crying 
out,  *'  Five  pounds  for  a  Swaddler's  head  !"  Many  per- 
sons, women  as  well  as  men,  were  bruised  and  wounded, 
to  the  imminent  danger  of  their  lives.  Depositions  of  these 
outrages  were  taken  and  laid  before  the  grand  jury ;  but 
they  threw  out  all  the  bills,  and,  instead  of  affording  relief 
or  justice  to  the  injured  persons,  preferred  bills  against 
Charles  Wesley  and  nine  of  the  Methodists,  as  persons  of 
ill  fame,  vagabonds,  and  common  disturbers  of  his  majes- 
ty's peace,  praying  that  they  might  be  transported.  Butler 
was  now  in  high  glory,  and  deslared  that  he  had  full  liberty 
to  do  whatever  he  would,  even  to  murder,  if  he  pleased. 
The  prejudice  against  the  Methodists  must  have  been  very 
general,  as  well  as  strong,  before  a  Protestant  magistrate, 
and  a  Protestant  grand  jury,  in  Ireland,  would  thus  abet  a 
Catholic  rabble  in  their  excesses;*  especially  when  the 

•  [The  common  enmity  of  the  Irish  Protestants  and  Catholics  against 
real  Chnstianity  was  sufficient  to  overcome  their  mutual  animosities, 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


131 


Romans,  as  they  called  themselves,  designated  the  Method- 
ists as  often  by  the  title  of  heretic  dogs,  as  by  any  less  com- 
prehensive appellation.  The  cause  must  be  found  partly 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodists,  and  partly  in  their  con- 
duct. Their  notions  of  perfection  and  assurance  might 
well  seem  fanatical,  in  the  highest  degree,  if  brought  for- 
ward, as  they  mostly  were,  by  ignorant  and  ardent  men, 
who  were  not,  like  the  Wesleys,  careful  to  explain  and 
qualify  the  rash  and  indefensible  expressions.  The  watch- 
nights  gave  reasonable  ground  for  scandal ;  and  the  zeal 
of  the  preachers  was  not  tempered  with  discretion,  or  soft- 
ened by  humanity.*  One  of  them  asked  a  young  woman 
whether  she  had  a  mind  to  go  to  hell  with  her  father;  and 
Mr.  Wesley  himself,  in  a  letter  upon  the  proceedings  at 
Cork,  justified  this  brutality  so  far  as  to  declare  that,  unless 
he  knew  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  he  could  not  say 
whether  it  was  right  or  wrong,  f 

just  as  the  Jews  and  Romans  w^ere  agreed  in  the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
—Am.  Ed.] 

*  [All  these  apologies  for  the  brutal  mobs  of  Cork,  and  their  abettors, 
are  made  to  order  by  the  biographer.  What  did  those  ignorant  savages 
know  or  care  about  the  peculiarities  of  Wesley's  doctrine  ?  Were  they 
all  so  thoroughly  orthodox,  and  so  sensitively^  alive  to  the  proprieties  of 
public  worship,  that  their  delicate  sensibilities  were  outraged  by  Meth- 
odist doctrines  and  manners?  Or,  rather,  did  Robert  Southey  love 
these  mobocrais  for  their  work's  sake  ?  and  is  it  not  to  such  apologists 
that  society  is  indebted  for  popular  tumults  ? — Am.  Ed.'] 

t  This  person,  whose  name  was  Jonathan  Reeves,  only  acted  upon  a 
principle  which  had  been  established  at  the  third  Conference.  The 
following  part  of  the  minutes  upon  that  subject  is  characteristic : 

Q.  1.  Can  an  unbeliever  (whatever  he  be  in  other  respects)  chal- 
lenge any  thing  of  God's  justice  ? 

A.  Absolutely  nothing  but  hell.  And  this  is  a  point  which  we  can 
not  too  much  insist  on. 

Q.  2.  Do  we  empty  men  of  their  own  righteousness,  as  we  did  at 
first  ?  Do  we  sufficiently  labor,  when  they  begin  to  be  convinced  of 
sin,  to  take  away  all  they  lean  upon  ?  Should  we  not  then  endeavor, 
with  all  our  might,  to  overturn  their  false  foundations? 

A.  This  was  at  first  one  of  our  principal  points ;  and  it  ought  to  be  so 
still ;  for,  till  all  other  foundations  are  overturned,  they  can  not  build 
upon  Christ. 

Q.  3.  Did  we  not  then  purposely  throw  them  into  convictions;  into 
strong  sorrow  and  fear  ?  Nay,  did  we  not  strive  to  make  them  incon- 
solable ;  refusing  to  be  comforted  ? 

A.  We  did;  and  so  we  should  do  still ;  for  the  stronger  the  convic- 
tion, the  speedier  is  the  deliverance :  and  none  so  soon  receive  the 
peace  of  God  as  those  who  steadily  refuse  all  other  comfort. 

Q.  4.  Let  us  consider  a  particular  case.  Were  you,  Jonathan  Reeves, 
before  you  received  the  peace  of  God,  convinced  that,  notwithstanding 
all  you  did,  or  could  do,  you  vvere  in  a  state  of  damnation  ? 


132 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


Several  of  the  persons  "whom  the  grand  jury  had  pre- 
sented as  vagabonds  appeared  at  the  next  assizes.  Butler 
was  the  first  witness  against  them.  Upon  being  asked 
what  his  calling  might  be,  he  replied,  "  I  sing  ballads," 
Upon  which  the  judge  lifted  up  his  hands  and  said,  "  Here 
are  six  gentlemen  indicted  as  vagabonds,  and  the  first  ac- 
cuser is  a  vagabond  by  profession  !"  The  next  witness, 
in  reply  to  the  same  question,  replied,  "  I  am  an  Anti- 
swaddler,  my  lord ;"  and  the  examination  ended  in  his  be- 
ing ordered  out  of  court  for  contempt.  The  judge  deliv- 
ered such  an  opinion  as  became  him,  upon  the  encourage- 
ment which  had  been  given  to  the  rioters.  In  the  ensuing 
year  Wesley  himself  visited  Cork,  and  preached  in  a  place 
called  Hammond's  Marsh,  to  a  numerous  but  quiet  assem- 
bly. As  there  was  a  report  that  the  mayor  intended  to 
prevent  him  from  preaching  at  that  place  again,  Wesley, 
with  more  deference  to  authority  than  he  had  shown  in 
England,  desired  two  of  his  friends  to  wait  upon  him  and 
say  that,  if  his  preaching  there  would  be  offensive,  he 
would  give  up  the  intention.  The  mayor  did  not  receive 
this  concession  graciously  :  he  replied,  in  anger,  that  there 
were  churches  and  meetings  enough  ;  he  would  have  no 
more  mobs  and  riots — no  more  preaching ;  and  if  Mr. 
Wesley  attempted  to  preach,  he  was  prepared  for  him. 
Some  person  had  said,  in  reply  to  one  who  observed  that 
the  Methodists  were  tolerated  by  the  king,  they  should  find 
that  the  mayor  was  king  of  Cork  ;  and  Mr.  Wesley  now 
found  that  there  was  more  meaning  in  this  than  he  had 
been  disposed  to  allow.  When  next  he  began  preaching 
in  the  Methodist  room,  the  mayor  sent  the  drummers  to 
drum  before  the  door.  A  great  mob  was  by  this  means 
collected  ;  and,  when  Wesley  came  out  of  the  house,  they 
closed  him  in.  He  appealed  to  one  of  the  sergeants  to  pro- 
tect him  ;  but  the  man  replied,  lie  had  no  orders  to  do  so  ; 
and  the  rabble  began  to  pelt  him  :  by  pushing  on,  however, 
and  looking  them  fairly  in  the  face,  with  his  wonted  com- 

J.  R.  I  was  convinced  of  it,  as  fully  as  that  I  ara  now  alive. 

Q.  5.  Are  you  sure  that  conviction  was  from  God  ? 

J.  R.  I  can  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  was. 

Q.  6.  What  do  you  mean  by  a  state  of  damnation  ? 

J.  R.  A  state  wherein  if  a  man  dies  he  perishes  forever.* 

*  If  for  justice  we  put  holiness,  what  is  there  in  this  series  of  Q.  and  j?.  to  which 
a  scriptural  Christian  can  positively  object  7  Is  it  not  most  true  that  we  must  be 
bottomed  in  Christ  alone  ?  And  if  so,  must  we  not  be  unbottomed  of  all  else.— 
S.  T.  C.-2~th  Avgust.  l^'XL 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


133 


posure,  he  made  way,  and  they  opened  to  let  him  pass. 
But  a  cry  was  set  up,  "  Hey  for  the  Romans  !"  The  con- 
gregation did  not  escape  so  well  as  the  leader  :  many  of 
them  were  roughly  handled,  and  covered  with  mud  ;  the 
house  was  presently  gutted,  the  floors  were  torn  up,  and, 
with  the  window-frames  and  doors,  carried  into  the  street 
and  burned ;  and  the  next  day  the  mob  made  a  grand  pro- 
cession, and  burned  Mr.  Wesley  in  effigy.  The  house  was  a 
second  time  attacked,  and  the  boards  demolished  which 
had  been  nailed  against  the  windows ;  and  a  fellow  posted 
up  a  notice  at  the  public  exchange,  with  his  name  affixed, 
that  he  was  ready  to  head  any  mob,  in  order  to  pull  down 
any  house  that  should  harbor  a  Swaddler. 

The  press  also  was  employed  against  the  Methodists, 
but  with  little  judgment,  and  less  honesty.  One  writer  ac- 
cused Mr.  Wesley  of  '*  robbing  and  plundering  the  poor,  so 
as  to  leave  them  neither  bread  to  eat,  nor  raiment  to  put 
on."  He  replied,  victoriously,  to  this  accusation  :  **  A  heavy 
charge,"  said  he,  "  but  without  all  color  of  truth  ;  yea,  just 
the  reverse  is  true.  Abundance  of  those  in  Cork,  Bandon, 
Limerick,  and  Dublin,  as  well  as  in  all  parts  of  England, 
who,  a  few  years  ago,  either  through  sloth  or  profaneness, 
had  not  bread  to  eat,  or  raiment  to  put  on,  have  now,  by 
means  of  the  preachers  called  Methodists,  a  sufficiency  of 
both.  Since,  by  hearing  these,  they  have  learned  to  fear 
God,  they  have  learned  also  to  work  with  their  hands,  as 
well  as  to  cut  off  every  needless  expense,  and  to  be  good 
stewards  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness."  He  aver- 
red, also,  that  the  effect  of  his  preaching  had  reconciled 
disaffected  persons  to  the  government ;  and  that  they  who 
became  Methodists  were,  at  the  same  time,  made  loyal  sub- 
jects.* He  reminded  his  antagonists  that,  when  one  of  the 
English  bishops  had  been  asked  what  could  be  done  to  stop 
these  new  preachers,  the  prelate  had  replied,  "  If  they 
preach  contrary  to  Scripture,  confute  them  by  Scripture ; 
if  contrary  to  reason,  confute  them  by  reason.  But  beware 
you  use  no  other  weapons  than  these,  either  in  opposing 
error  or  defending  the  truth."  He  complained  that,  instead 
of  fair  and  honorable  argument,  he  had  been  assailed  at 
Cork  with  gross  falsehoods,  mean  abuse,  and  base  scurrility. 
He  challenged  any  of  his  antagonists,  or  any  who  would 
come  forward  to  meet  him  on  even  ground,  writing  as  a 


*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXL— ^w.  Ed.} 


134 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


gentleman  to  a  gentleman,  a  scholar  to  a  scholar,  a  clergy- 
man to  a  clergyman.  "  Let  them,"  said  he,  "thus  show 
me  wherein  I  have  preached  or  written  amiss,  and  I  will 
stand  reproved  before  all  the  world  ;  but  let  them  not  con- 
tinue to  put  persecution  in  the  place  of  reason  :  either  ^rz- 
vate  persecution,  stirring  up  husbands  to  threaten  or  beat 
their  wives,  parents  their  children,  masters  their  servants ; 
gentlemen  to  ruin  their  tenants,  laborers,  or  tradesmen,  by 
turning  them  out  of  their  favor  or  cottages ;  employing  or 
buying  of  them  no  more,  because  they  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  their  own  conscience:  or  open,  bare  faced,  noon- 
day, Cork  persecution,  breaking  open  the  houses  of  his  maj- 
esty's Protestant  subjects,  destroying  their  goods,  spoiling 
or  tearing  the  very  clothes  from  their  backs  ;  striking,  bruis- 
ing, wounding,  murdering  them  in  the  streets ;  dragging 
them  through  the  miie,  without  any  regard  to  age  or  sex, 
not  sparing  even  those  of  tender  years ;  no,  nor  women, 
though  great  with  child  ;  but,  with  more  than  Pagan  or 
Mohammedan  barbarity,  destroying  infantsthat  were  yet 
unborn."  He  insisted,  truly,  that  this  was  a  common  cause  ; 
for,  if  the  Methodists  were  not  protected,  what  protection 
would  any  men  have  ]  what  security  for  their  goods  or 
lives,  if  a  mob  were  to  be  both  judge,  jury,  and  execution- 
er"? "I  fear  God,  and  honor  the  king,"  said  he.  "  I  earn- 
estly desire  to  be  at  peace  with  all  men.  I  have  not,  will- 
ingly, given  any  offense,  either  to  the  magistrates,  the  clergy, 
or  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Cork ;  neither  do  I 
desire  any  thing  of  them,  but  to  be  treated  (I  will  not  say 
as  a  clergyman,  a  gentleman,  or  a  Christian)  with  such 
justice  and  humanity  as  are  due  to  a  Jew,  a  Turk,  or  a 
Pagan." 

Whitefield  visited  Ireland,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  en- 
suing year,  and  found  himself  the  safer  for  the  late  trans- 
actions. Such  outrages  had  compelled  the  higher  powers 
to  interfere  ;  and  when  he  arrived  at  Cork,  the  populace 
was  in  a  state  of  due  subordination.  He  seems  to  have  re- 
garded the  conduct  of  Wesley  and  his  lay  preachers  with 
no  favorable  eye  :  some  dreadful  offenses,  he  said,  had  been 
given  ;  and  he  condemned  all  politics,  as  below  the  chil- 
dren of  God ;  alluding,  apparently,  to  the  decided  manner 
in  which  Wesley  always  inculcated  obedience  to  govern- 
ment as  one  of  the  duties  of  a  Christian  ;  making  it  his 
boast,  that  whoever  became  a  Methodist,  became  at  the 
same  time  a  good  subject.    Though  his,  success  was  not  so 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


135 


brilliant  as  in  Scotland,  it  was  still  sufficient  to  encourage 
and  cheer  him.  "  Providence,"  says  he,  "  has  wonderfully 
prepared  my  way,  and  overruled  every  thing  for  my  great- 
er acceptance.  Everywhere  there  seems  to  be  a  stirring 
among  the  dry  bones ;  and  the  trembling  lamps  of  God's 
people  have  been  supplied  with  fresh  oil.  The  word  ran, 
and  was  glorified."  Hundreds  prayed  for  him  when  he 
left  Cork  ;  and  many  of  the  Catholics  said  that,  if  he  would 
stay,  they  would  leave  their  priests  ;  but  on  a  second  ex- 
pedition to  Ireland,  Whitefield  narrowly  escaped  with  his 
life.  He  had  been  well  received,  and  had  preached  once 
or  twice,  on  week  days,  in  Oxminton  Green  ;  a  place  which 
he  describes  as  the  Moorfields  of  Dublin.  The  Ormond 
Boys  and  the  Liberty  Boys  (these  were  the  current  de- 
nominations of  the  mob-factions  at  that  time)  generally  as- 
sembled there  every  Sunday — to  fight ;  and  Whitefield, 
mindful,  no  doubt,  of  his  success  in  a  former  enterprise 
under  like  circumstances,  determined  to  take  the  field  on 
that  day,  relying  on  the  interference  of  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers, whose  barracks  were  close  by,  if  he  should  stand  in 
need  of  protection.  The  singing,  praying,  and  preaching 
went  on  without  much  interruption ;  only,  now  and  then, 
a  few  stones,  and  a  few  clods  of  dirt,  were  thrown.  After 
the  sermon,  he  prayed  for  success  to  the  Prussian  arms,  it 
being  in  time  of  war.  Whether  this  prayer  offended  the 
party-spirit  of  his  hearers, — or  whether  the  mere  fact  of  his 
being  a  heretic,  who  went  about  seeking  to  make  prose- 
lytes, had  excited  in  the  Catholic  part  of  the  mob  a  deter- 
mined spirit  of  vengeance, — or  whether,  without  any  prin- 
ciple of  hatred  or  personal  dislike,  they  considered  him  as 
a  bear,  bull,  or  badger,  whom  they  had  an  opportunity  of 
tormenting, — the  barracks,  through  which  he  intended  to 
return,  as  he  had  come,  were  closed  against  him  ;  and  when 
he  endeavored  to  make  his  way  across  the  green,  the  rab- 
ble assailed  him.  "  Many  attacks,"  says  he,  "  have  I  had 
from  Satan's  children,  but  now  you  would  have  thought  he 
had  been  permitted  to  have  given  me  an  effectual  parting 
blow."  Volleys  of  stones  came  from  all  quarters,  while  he 
reeled  to  and  fro  under  the  blows,  till  he  was  almost 
breathless,  and  covered  with  blood.  A  strong  beaver  hat, 
which  served  him  for  a  while  as  a  skull-cap,  was  knocked 
off  at  last,  and  he  then  received  many  blows  and  wounds 
on  the  head,  and  one  large  one  near  the  temple.  '*  I  thought 
of  Stephen,"  says  he,    and  was  in  great  hopes  that,  like 


136 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


him,  I  should  be  dispatched,  and  go  off,  in  this  bloody  tn- 
umph,  to  the  immediate  presence  of  my  Master."  The 
door  of  a  minister's  house  was  opened  for  him  in  time,  and 
he  staggered  in,  and  was  sheltered  there,  till  a  coach  could 
be  brought,  and  he  was  conveyed  safely  away. 

The  bitter  spirit  of  the  more  ignorant  Catholics  was 
often  exemplified.  The  itinerants  were  frequently  told, 
that  it  would  be  doing  both  God  and  the  Church  service  to 
burn  all  such  as  them  in  one  fire ;  and  one  of  them,  when 
he  first  went  into  the  county  of  Kerry,  was  received  with 
the  threat  that  they  would  kill  him,  and  m.ake  whistles  of 
his  bones.  Another  was  nearly  murdered  by  a  ferocious 
mob,  one  of  whom  set  his  foot  upon  his  face,  swearing  that 
he  would  tread  the  Holy  Ghost  out  of  him.  At  Kilkenny, 
where  the  Catholics  were  not  strong  enough  to  make  a 
riot  with  much  hope  of  success,  they  gnashed  at  Wesley 
with  their  teeth,  after  he  had  been  preaching  in  an  old 
bowling-green,  near  the  Castle;  and  one  of  them  cried, 
*'  Och  !  what  is  Kilkenny  come  to  !"  But  it  was  from 
among  the  Irish  Catholics  that  Wesley  obtained  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  his  coadjutors,  and  one  of  the  most  effi- 
cient also  during  his  short  life. 

Thomas  Walsh,  whom  the  Methodists  justly  reckon 
among  their  most  distinguished  members,  was  the  son  of  a 
carpenter  at  Bally  Lynn,  in  the  county  of  Limerick.  His 
parents  were  strong  Romanists  :  they  taught  him  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  the  Ave  Maria  in  Irish,  which  was  his  mother 
tongue,  and  the  hundred-and-thirtieth  Psalm  in  Latin  ;  and 
he  was  taught  also,  that  all  who  differ  from  the  Church  of 
Rome  are  in  a  state  of  damnation.  At  eight  years  old  he 
went  to  school  to  learn  English  ;  and  was  afterward  placed 
with  one  of  his  bi'others,  who  was  a  schoolmaster,  to  learn 
Latin  and  mathematics.  At  nineteen  he  opened  a  school 
for  himself  The  brother,  by  whom  he  was  instructed,  had 
been  intended  for  the  priesthood  :  he  was  a  man  of  tolera- 
ble learning,  and  of  an  inquiring  mind,  and  seeing  the 
errors  of  the  Romish  church,  he  renounced  it.  This  occa- 
sioned frequent  disputes  with  Thomas  Walsh,  who  was  a 
strict  Catholic  ;  the  one  alledging  the  traditions  and  canons 
of  the  Church,  the  other  appealing  to  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony.  "  My  brother,  why  do  you  not  read  God's 
word?"  the  elder  would  say.  "Lay  aside  prejudice,  and 
let  us  reason  together."  After  many  struggles  between 
the  misgivings  of  his  mind,  and  the  attachment  to  the  opin- 


TH0MA3  WALSH. 


137 


ions  in  vvliich  he  had  been  bred  up,  and  the  thought  of  his 
parents,  and  shame,  and  the  fear  of  man,  this  state  of  sus- 
pense became  intolerable,  and  he  prayed  to  God  in  his 
trouble.  "  All  things  are  known  to  Thee,"  he  said  in  his 
prayer ;  *•  and  Thou  seest  that  I  want  to  worship  Thee 
aright !  Show  me  the  way  wherein  I  ought  to  go,  nor  suf- 
fer me  to  be  deceived  by  men  !" 

He  then  went  to  his  brother,  determined  either  to  con- 
vince him,  or  to  be  convinced.  Some  other  persons  of  the 
Protestant  persuasion  were  present :  they  brought  a  Bible, 
and  with  it  Nelson's  "  Festivals  and  Fasts  of  the  Church  of 
England;"  and,  with  these  books  before  them,  they  dis- 
cussed the  subject  till  midnight.  It  ended  in  his  fair  and 
complete  conversion.  "I  was  constrained,"  said  he,  "to 
give  place  to  the  light  of  truth :  it  was  so  convincing,  that 
I  had  nothing  more  to  say.  I  was  judged  of  all ;  and  at 
length  confessed  the  weakness  of  my  former  reasonings, 
and  the  strength  of  those  which  were  opposed  to  me. 
About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  retired  to  my  lodging, 
and  according  to  my  usual  custom,  went  to  prayer ;  but 
now  only  to  the  God  of  heaven.  I  no  longer  prayed  to 
any  angel  or  spirit ;  for  I  was  deeply  persuaded,  that 
'  there  is  but  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus.'  Therefore,  I  resolved  no 
longer  to  suffer  any  man  to  beguile  me  into  a  voluntary 
humility,  in  worshiping  either  saints  or  angels.  These 
latter  I  considered  as  '  ministering  spirits,  sent  to  minister 
to  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.'  But  with  regard 
to  any  worship  being  paid  them,  one  of  themselves  said, 
*  See  thou  do  it  not ;  worship  God,  God  only.'  All  my 
sophisms  on  this  head  were  entirely  overthrown  by  a  few 
hours'  candid  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  were  be- 
come as  a  lantern  to  my  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  my  paths,  di- 
recting me  in  the  way  wherein  I  should  go."  Soon  after- 
ward he  publicly  abjured  the  errors  of  the  Church  of 
Rome.* 

*  His  disposition  would  have  made  him  a  saint  in  that  church,  but 
his  principles  were  truly  catholic,  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  abused 
word.  "  I  bear  them  witness,"  says  he,  speaking  of  the  Romanists, 
"  that  they  have  a  zeal  for  God,  though  not  according  unto  knowledge. 
Many  of  them  love  justice,  mercy,  and  truth  ;  and  may,  notwithstand- 
ing many  errors  in  sentiment,  and  therefore  in  practice  (since,  as  is 
God's  majesty,  so  is  his  mercy),  be  dealt  with  accordingly.  There 
have  been,  doubtless,  and  still  are,  among  them,  some  burning  and 
shining  lights;  persons  who  (whatever  their  particular  sentiments  may 


138  METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 

This  had  been  a  sore  struggle  :  a  more  painful  part  of 
his  progress  was  yet  to  come.  He  read  the  Scriptures 
diligently,  and  the  works  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
Protestant  divines  :  his  conviction  was  confirmed  by  this 
course  of  study  ;  and,  from  perceiving  clearly  the  fallacious 
nature  and  evil  consequences  of  the  doctrine  of  merits,  as 
held  by  the  Romanists,  a  dismal  view  of  human  nature 
opened  upon  him.  His  soul  was  not  at  rest :  it  was  no 
longer  harassed  by  doubts  ;  but  the  peace  of  God  was  want- 
ing. In  this  state  of  mind,  he  happened  one  evening  to  be 
passing  along  the  main  street  in  Limerick,  when  he  saw  a 

be)  are  devoted  to  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  as  their  light 
and  opportunities  admit.  And,  in  reality,  whatever  opinions  people 
may  hold,  they  are  most  approved  of  God,  whose  temper  and  behavior 
correspond  with  the  model  of  his  holy  word.  This,  however,  can  be 
no  justification  of  general  and  public  unsciiptural  tenets,  such  as  are 
many  of  those  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  may  be  asked,  then,  why  did 
I  leave  their  communion,  since  I  thought  so  favorably  of  them?  I 
answer.  Because  I  was  abundantly  convinced  that,  as  a  church,  they 
have  erred  from  the  right  way,  and  adulterated  the  truths  of  God  with 
the  inventions  and  traditions  of  men ;  which  the  Scriptures,  and  even 
celebrated  writers  of  themselves,  abundantly  testify.  God  is  my  wit- 
ness, that  the  sole  motive  which  induced  me  to  leave  them,  was  an  un- 
feigned desire  to  know  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly,  in  order  to  the 
salvation  of  my  soul.  For  although  I  then  felt,  and  do  yet  feel,  my 
heart  to  be,  as  the  prophet  speaks,  deceitful  and  desperately  wicked, 
with  regard  to  God ;  yet  I  was  sincere  in  my  reformation,  having  from 
the  Holy  Spirit  an  earnest  desire  to  save  my  soul.  If  it  should  still  be 
asked,  But  could  I  not  be  saved  ?  I  answer.  If  I  had  never  known  the 
truth  of  the  Scriptures  concerning  the  way  of  salvation,  nor  been  con- 
vinced that  their  principles  were  anti-scriptural,  then  I  might  possibly 
have  been  saved  in  her  communion,  the  merciful  God  making  allow- 
ance for  my  invincible  ignorance.  But  I  freely  profess,  that  now,  since 
God  hath  enlightened  my  mind,  and  given  me  to  see  the  tnith,  as  it  is 
in  Jesus,  if  I  had  still  continued  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  I 
could  not  have  been  saved.  With  regard  to  others,  1  say  nothing:  I 
know  that  every  man  must  bear  his  own  burden,  and  give  an  account 
of  himself  to  God.  To  our  own  Master,  both  they  or  I  must  stand  or 
fall,  forever.  But  love,  however,  and  tender  compassion  for  their 
souls,  constrained  me  to  pour  out  a  prayer  to  God  in  their  behalf : — 
All  souls  are  thine,  O  Lord  God ;  and  Thou  wiliest  all  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  be  saved.  For  this  end  Thou  didst  give 
thy  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  I  beseech  thee,  O  eternal  God,  show 
thy  tender  mercies  upon  these  poor  souls  who  have  been  long  deluded 
by  the  god  of  this  world,  the  Pope,  and  his  clergy.  Jesus,  thou  lover 
of  souls,  and  friend  of  sinners,  send  to  them  thy  light  and  thy  truth,  that 
they  may  lead  them.  Oh,  let  thy  bowels  yearn  over  them,  and  call 
those  straying  sheep,  now  perishing  for  the  lack  of  knowledge,  to  the 
light  of  thy  word,  which  is  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation, 
through  faith  which  is  in  Thee." 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


139 


great  crowd  on  the  Parade,  and  turning  aside  to  know  for 
what  they  were  assembled,  found  that  Robert  Swindells, 
one  of  the  first  itinerants  in  Ireland,  was  then  delivering  a 
sermon  in  the  open  air.  The  preacher  was  earnestly  en- 
forcing the  words  of  our  Redeemer — words  which  are 
worth  more  than  all  the  volumes  of  philosophy :  *'  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest !  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me  ; 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls !  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is 
light."  Walsh  was  precisely  in  that  state  which  rendered 
him  a  fit  recipient  for  the  doctrines  which  he  now  first 
heard.  He  caught  the  fever  of  Methodism,  and  it  went 
through  its  regular  course  with  all  the  accustomed  symp- 
toms. Some  weeks  he  remained  in  a  miserable  condition  : 
he  could  find  no  rest,  either  by  night  or  day.  "  When  I 
prayed,"  says  he,  **  I  was  troubled ;  when  I  heard  a  ser- 
mon, I  was  pierced  as  with  darts  and  arrows."  He  could 
neither  sleep  nor  eat :  his  body  gave  way  under  this  men- 
tal suffering,  and  at  length  he  took  to  his  bed.  After  a 
while  the  reaction  began  :  fear  and  wretchedness  gradually 
gave  place  to  the  love  of  God,  and  the  strong  desire  for 
salvation  :  and  the  crisis  was  brought  on  at  a  meeting, 
where,  he  says,  "  the  power  of  the  Lord  came  down  in  the 
midst  of  them ;  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened,  and 
the  skies  poured  down  righteousness,  and  his  heart  melted 
like  wax  before  the  fire."*  To  the  psychologist  it  may  be 
interesting  to  know  by  what  words  this  state  of  mind  was 

*  Alas!  What  more  or  worse  could  a  young  infidel  spitaller,  fresh 
from  the  lectures  of  some  facetious  infidel  anatomist  or  physiologist, 
have  wished,  than  to  have  the  sense  of  the  utter  vUeness  and  helpless- 
ness of  man  left  to  himself,  gradually  followed  by  the  conviction  of  an 
Almighty  Helper — than  to  have  "  the  love  of  God  and  the  strong 
DESIRE  FOR  SALVATION"  represented  as  so  many  regular  symptoms  and 
crises  of  a  bodily  disease  ?  Oh  !  I  am  almost  inclined  to  send  this  my 
copy  of  his  work  to  R.  Southey,  with  the  notes,  for  my  heart  bears  him 
witness  that  he  offendeth  not  willingly. 

P.S.  (three  years  at  least  later  than  the  above.) — And  I,  who  had  for- 
gotten, and  was  unconscious  that  I  had  written  the  preceding  note, 
had,  but  a  few  days  ago,  and  but  a  few  pages  back,  written  one  to  the 
very  purpose,  and  in  the  very  same  spirit,  which  I  had  condemned  in 
Southey.  "  Judge  not,  lest  ye  be  judged."  But  as  to  the  point  itself, 
verily  I  know  not  what  to  say  more  than  this, — that  if  I  decide  in  favor 
of  the  opinion  that  these  experiences  have  their  proper  seat  and  origin 
in  the  nervous  system,  and  are  to  be  solved  pathologically,  it  is  not  for 
want  of  a  strong  inclination  to  believe  the  contrary.  But  the  descrip- 
tions, even  of  such  men  as  Haliburton  and  Walsh,  are  so  vague,  so  en- 


140 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


induced.  It  was  by  the  exclamation  of  the  prophet,  "  Who 
is  this  that  cometh  from  Edora,  with  dyed  garments  from 
Bozrah  ;  this  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel,  traveling  in 
the  greatness  of  his  strength  V  a  passage  which,  with  that 
that  follows,  is  in  the  highest  strain  of  lyric  sublimity :  it 
might  seem  little  likely  to  convey  comfort  to  a  spirit  which 
had  long  been  inconsolable ;  but  its  effect  was  like  that  of 
a  spark  of  fire  upon  materials  which  are  ready  to  burst 
into  combustion.  He  cried  aloud  in  the  congregation  ; 
and,  when  the  throe  was  past,  declared  that  he  had  now 
found  rest,  and  was  filled  with  joy  and  peace  in  believ- 
ing. 

*'  And  now,"  says  he,  "  I  felt  of  a  truth,  that  faith  is  the 
substance,  or  subsistence,  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen.  God,  and  the  things  of  the  in- 
visible world,  of  which  I  had  only  heard  before,  by  the 
hearing  of  the  ear,  appeared  now  in  their  true  light,  as 
substantial  realities.  Faith  gave  me  to  see  a  reconciled 
God,  and  an  all-sufficient  Savior.  The  kingdom  of  God 
was  within  me.  I  drew  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salva- 
tion. I  walked  and  talked  with  God  all  the  day  long  :  what- 
soever I  believed  to  be  his  will,  I  did  with  my  whole  heart. 
I  could  unfeignedly  love  them  that  hated  me,  and  pray  for 
them  that  despitefully  used  and  persecuted  me.  The  com- 
mandments of  God  were  my  delight  :  I  not  only  rejoiced 
evermore,  but  prayed  without  ceasing,  and  in  every  thing 

tirely  sensational ! — ^nothing  in  the  mind  that  was  not  there  before  ; 
only  a  glow,  a  vividness  over  all,  as  in  dreams  after  I  have  taken  a  dose 
of  calomel,  or  as  I  have  described  the  fishermen  with  their  nets  on  the 
ice,  in  the  blaze  of  a  winter  sunset  on  the  lake  of  Eatzeburg.  Com- 
bine the  state  of  mind  and  body  that  follows  the  sudden  removal  of 
violent  pain,  with  the  freshness  and  delicious  tenderness  of  convales- 
cence, and  add  to  these  the  elevation  of  religious  hopes  and  calls  to 
duties  awful  as  the  immortal  soul — and  nothing,  it  seems  tome,  remains 
unsolved  but  the  sudden  outcry,  the  birth-throe.  Nothing  ?  But  is  not 
this  (Zinzendorf  might  reply)  only  not  all?  However  essentially  in- 
sensible the  prevenient  and  coincident  operation  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
on  the  will,  yet  the  will  can  not  be  denied  to  exert  an  action  on  the 
body  ;  which  action  is  itself  indeed  likewise  insensible  (inasmuch  as 
the  will  too  is  spiritual) ;  but  the  consequent  of  which,  viz.,  the  act  or 
reaction  of  the  body,  must  be  sensible.  Be  it  so  !  Yet  in  what  would 
this  differ  (except  in  the  manner  of  expression)  from  the  former  hypoth- 
esis, that  the  experience  in  question  consists  of  a  nervous  explosion  oc- 
casioned by  mental  efforts  ?  If  Southey  were  by,  he  would  perhaps 
inform  rne,  up  to  what  age  he  had  been  able  to  trace  the  Moravian 
notion  of  a  Durchbruch,  Diarrhexis,  or  thorough-break  of  the  new  life! 
— whether  any  thing  like  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  Fathers,  or  in  Epipha- 
nias's  account  of  the  heretical  sects ! — S.  T.  C. 


THOMAS  WAl.^lI. 


141 


gave  thanks  :  whether  I  ate  or  di  auk,  or  whatever  I  did, 
it  was  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  to  the  glory  of 
God."  This  case  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  the 
subject  was  of  a  calm  and  thoughtful  mind,  a  steady  and 
well  regulated  temper,  and  a  melancholy  temperament. 
He  had  now  to  undergo  more  obloquy  and  ill-will  than  had 
been  brought  upon  him  by  his  renunciation  of  the  errors 
of  the  Romish  church.  That  change,  his  relations  thought, 
was  bad  enough ;  but,  to  become  a  Methodist,  was  worse, 
and  they  gave  him  up  as  undone  forever :  and  not  his  re- 
lations only,  nor  the  Romanists.  **  Acquaintances  and 
neighbors,"  says  he,  "  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young, 
clergy  and  laity,  were  all  against  me.  Some  said  I  was 
a  hypocrite  ;  others  that  I  was  mad  ;  others,  judging  more 
favorably,  that  I  was  deceived.  Reformed  and  unreformed 
I  found  to  be  just  alike  ;  and  that  many  who  spoke  against 
the  Pope  and  the  Inquisition  were  themselves,  in  reality, 
of  the  same  disposition." 

Convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  now  to  become  a  minis- 
ter of  that  Gospel  which  he  had  received,  he  offered  his 
services  to  Mr.  Wesley,  as  one  who  believed,  and  that  not 
hastily  or  lightly,  but  after  ardent  aspirations,  and  con- 
tinued prayer  and  study  of  the  Scriptures,  that  he  was  in- 
wardly moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  take  upon  himself 
that  office.  He  had  prepared  himself  by  diligent  study  of 
the  Scriptures,  which  he  read  often  upon  his  knees  :  and 
the  prayer  which  he  was  accustomed  to  use  at  such  times, 
may  excite  the  admiration  of  those  even  in  whom  it  shall 
fail  to  find  sympathy :  Lord  Jesus,  I  lay  my  soul  at  thy 
feet,  to  be  taught  and  governed  by  Thee.  Take  the  veil 
from  the  mystery,  and  show  me  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Thy- 
self. Be  Thou  my  sun  and  star,  by  day  and  by  night !" 
Wesley  told  him  it  was  hard  to  judge  what  God  had 
called  him  to,  till  trial  had  been  made.  He  encouraged 
him  to  make  the  trial,  and  desired  him  to  preach  in  Irish. 
The  command  of  that  language  gave  him  a  great  advan- 
tage. It  was  long  ago  said  in  Ireland,  **  When  you  plead 
for  your  life,  plead  in  Irish."  Even  the  poor  Catholics  lis- 
tened willingly,  when  they  were  addressed  in  their  mother 
tongue  :  his  hearers  frequently  shed  silent  tears,  and  fre- 
quently sobbed  aloud,  and  cried  for  mercy  ;  and  in  country 
towns  the  peasantry,  who,  going  there  upon  market-day, 
had  stopped  to  hear  the  preacher,  from  mere  wonder  and 
curiosity,  were  oftentimes  melted  into  tears,  and  declared 


142 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


that  they  could  follow  him  all  over  the  world.  One,  who 
had  laid  aside  some  money,  which  he  intended  to  bequeath, 
for  the  good  of  his  soul,  to  some  priest  or  friar,  offered  to 
bequeath  it  to  him,  if  he  would  accept  it.  In  conversation, 
too,  and  upon  all  the  occasions  which  occurred  in  daily 
life — at  inns,  and  upon  the  highway,  and  in  the  streets — 
this  remarkable  man  omitted  no  opportunity  of  giving  re- 
ligious exhortation  to  those  who  needed  it ;  taking  care, 
always,  not  to  shock  the  prejudices  of  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed, and  to  adapt  his  speech  to  their  capacity.  Points 
of  dispute,  whether  they  regarded  the  difference  of  churches, 
or  of  doctrines,  he  wisely  avoided  :  sin,  and  death,  and 
judgment,  and  redemption,  were  his  themes ;  and  upon 
these  themes  he  enforced  so  powerfully,  at  such  times, 
that  the  beggars,  to  whom  he  frequently  addressed  himself 
in  the  streets,  would  fall  on  their  knees,  and  beat  their 
breasts,  weeping,  and  crying  for  mercy. 

Many  calumnies  were  invented  to  counteract  the  effect 
which  this  zealous  laborer  produced  wherever  he  went. 
It  was  spread  abroad  that  he  had  been  a  servant  boy  to  a 
Romish  priest ;  and  having  stolen  his  master's  books,  he 
learned  by  that  means  to  preach.  But  it  was  not  from  the 
Catholics  alone  that  he  met  with  opposition.  He  was  once 
waylaid  near  the  town  of  Rosgrea,  by  about  four  score 
men,  armed  with  sticks,  and  bound  by  oath  in  a  con- 
federacy against  him  :  they  were  so  liberal  a  mob,  that, 
provided  they  could  reclaim  him  from  Methodism,  they 
appeared  not  to  care  what  they  made  of  him  ;  and  they 
insisted  upon  bringing  a  Romish  priest,  and  a  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  to  talk  with  him.  Walsh,  with 
great  calmness,  explained  to  them,  that  he  contended  with 
no  man  concerning  opinions,  nor  preached  against  par- 
ticular churches,  but  against  sin  and  wickedness  in  all. 
And  he  so  far  succeeded  in  mitigating  their  disposition 
toward  him,  that  they  offered  to  let  him  go,  provided  he 
would  swear  never  again  to  come  to  Rosgrea.  Walsh 
would  rather  have  suffered  martyrdom  than  have  submit- 
ted to  such  an  oath  ;  and  martyrdom  was  the  alternative 
which  they  proposed  ;  for  they  carried  him  into  the  town, 
where  the  whole  rabble  surrounded  him  ;  and  it  was  de- 
termined that  he  should  either  swear,  or  be  put  into  a  well. 
The  courage  with  which  he  refused  to  bind  himself  by  any 
oath  or  promise,  made  him  friends  even  among  so  strange 
an  assembly :  some  cried  out  vehemently  that  he  should 


TH0MA3  WALSH. 


143 


go  into  the  well  ;  others  took  his  part  :  in  the  midst  of  the 
uproar,  the  parish  minister  came  up,  and,  by  his  inter- 
ference, Walsh  was  permitted  to  depart.  At  another 
country  town,  about  twenty  miles  from  Cork,  the  magis- 
trate, who  was  the  rector  of  the  place,  declared  he  would 
commit  him  to  prison,  if  he  did  not  promise  to  preach  no 
more  in  those  parts.  Walsh  replied,  by  asking  if  there 
were  no  swearers,  drunkards.  Sabbath-breakers,  and  the 
like,  in  those  parts  ;  adding  that,  if,  after  he  should  have 
preached  there  a  few  times,  there  appeared  no  reforma- 
tion among  them,  he  would  never  come  there  again.  Not 
satisfied  with  such  a  proposal,  the  magistrate  committed 
him  to  prison  :  but  Walsh  was  popular  in  that  town ;  the 
people  manifested  a  great  interest  in  his  behalf ;  he 
preached  to  them  from  the  prison-window,  and  it  was 
soon  thought  advisable  to  release  him.  He  was  more 
cruelly  handled  by  the  Presbyterians  in  the  north  of  Ire- 
land :  the  usage  which  he  received  from  a  mob  of  that 
persuasion,  and  the  exertions  which  he  made  to  escape 
from  them,  threw  him  into  a  fever,  which  confined  him 
for  some  time  to  his  bed  :  and  he  professed  that,  in  all  his 
journeyings,  and  in  his  intercourse  among  people  of  many 
or  most  denominations,  he  had  met  with  no  such  treatment ; 
no,  not  even  from  the  most  enraged  of  the  Romanists  them- 
selves. 

The  life  of  Thomas  Walsh  might  almost  convince  a 
Catholic  that  saints  are  to  be  found  in  other  communions, 
as  well  as  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Theopathy  was,  in 
him,  not  merely  the  ruling,  it  was  the  only  passion  :  his 
intellect  was  of  no  common  order ;  but  this  passion,  in  its 
excess,  acted  like  a  disease  upon  a  mind  that  was  by  con- 
stitution melancholy.  To  whatever  church  he  had  be- 
longed, the  elements  of  his  character  would  have  been  the 
same  :  the  only  difference  would  have  been  in  its  mani- 
festation. As  a  Romanist,  he  might  have  retired  to  a  cell 
or  a  hermitage,  contented  with  securing  his  own  salvation, 
by  perpetual  austerity  and  prayer,  and  a  course  of  con- 
tinual self-tormenting.  But  he  could  not  have  been  more 
dead  to  the  world,  nor  more  entirely  possessed  by  a  de- 
votional spirit.  His  friends  described  him  as  appearing 
like  one  who  had  returned  from  the  other  world  :  and  per- 
haps it  was  this  unearthly  manner  which  induced  a  Romish 
priest  to  assure  his  flock  that  the  Walsh  who  had  turned 
heretic,  and  went  about  preaching,  was  dead  long  since ; 


144 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


and  that  be  who  preached  under  that  name,  was  the  Devil, 
in  his  shape.  It  is  said  that  he  walked  through  the  streets 
of  London  with  as  little  attention  to  all  things  around  him, 
as  if  he  had  been  in  a  wilderness,  unobservant  of  whatever 
would  have  attracted  the  sight  of  others,  and  as  indifferent 
to  all  sounds  of  excitement,  uproar,  and  exultation,  as  to 
the  passing  wind.  He  showed  the  same  insensibility  to 
the  influence  of  fine  scenery  and  sunshine  :  the  only  natu- 
ral object  of  which  he  spoke  with  feeling  was  the  starry 
firmament, — for  there  he  beheld  infinity. 

With  all  this,  the  zeal  of  this  extraordinary  man  was 
such,  that,  as  he  truly  said  of  himself,  the  sword  was  too 
sharp  for  the  scabbard.  At  five-and-twenty  he  might  have 
Deen  taken  for  forty  years  of  age ;  and  he  literally  wore 
nimself  out  before  he  attained  the  age  of  thirty,  by  the 
most  unremitting  and  unmerciful  labor,  both  of  body  and 
mind.  His  sermons  were  seldom  less  than  an  hour  long, 
and  they  were  loud  as  well  as  long.  Mr.  Wesley  always 
warned  his  preachers  against  both  these  errors,  and  con- 
sidered Walsh  as  in  some  degree  guilty  of  his  own  death, 
by  the  excessive  exertion  which  he  made  at  such  times, 
notwithstanding  frequent  advice,  and  frequent  resolutions, 
to  restrain  the  vehemence  of  his  spirit.  He  was  not  less 
intemperate  in  study.  Wesley  acknowledged  him  to  be 
the  best  biblical  scholar  whom  he  had  ever  known  :  if  he 
were  questioned  concerning  any  Hebrew  word  in  the  Old, 
or  any  Greek  one  in  the  New  Testament,  he  would  tell, 
after  a  pause,  how  often  it  occurred  in  the  Bible,  and  what 
it  meant  in  every  place.  Hebrew  was  his  favorite  study : 
he  regarded  it  as  a  language  of  divine  origin,  and  there- 
fore perfect:  "O  truly  laudable  and  worthy  study!"  he 
exclaims  concerning  it :  "  O  industry  above  all  praise  ! 
whereby  a  man  is  enabled  to  converse  with  God,  with 
noly  angels,  with  patriarchs,  and  with  prophets,  and  clearly 
to  unfold  to  men  the  mind  of  God  from  the  language  of 
God !"  And  he  was  persuaded  that  he  had  not  attained 
the  full  and  familiar  knowledge  of  it,  which  he  believed 
that  he  possessed,  without  special  assistance  from  Heaven. 
At  this  study  he  frequently  sat  up  late  ;  and  his  general 
time  of  rising  was  at  four.  When  he  was  entreated  to 
allow  himself  more  sleep,  by  one  who  saw  that  he  was 
wasting  away  to  death,  his  reply  was,  "  Should  a  man  rob 
Godl" 

The  friends  of  Walsh  related  things  of  him  which  would 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


145 


have  been  good  evidence  in  a  suit  for  canonization.  Some- 
times he  was  lost,  they  say,  in  glorious  absence,  on  his 
knees,  with  his  face  heavenward,  and  arms  clasped  round 
his  breast,  in  such  composure,  that  scarcely  could  he  be 
perceived  to  breathe.  His  soul  seemed  absorbed  in  God ; 
and  from  the  serenity,  and  "  something  resembling  splen- 
dor, which  appeared  on  his  countenance,  and  in  all  his 
gestures  afterward,  it  might  easily  be  discovered  what  he 
had  been  about."  Even  in  sleep,  the  devotional  habit  still 
predominated,  and  "  his  soul  went  out  in  groans,  and  sighs, 
and  tears  to  God."  They  bear  witness  to  his  rapts  and 
ecstasies,  and  record  circumstances  which  they  themselves 
believed  to  be  proofs  of  his  communion  with  the  invisible 
world.  With  all  this  intense  devotion,  the  melancholy  of 
his  disposition  always  predominated  :  and  though  he  held 
the  doctrines  of  sanctifi cation  and  assurance,  and  doubted 
not  but  that  his  pardon  was  sealed  by  the  blood  of  the 
covenant,  no  man  was  ever  more  distressed  in  mind,  nor 
labored  under  a  greater  dread  of  death.  Even  when  he 
was  enforcing  the  vital  truths  of  religion,  with  the  whole 
force  of  his  intellect,  and  with  all  his  heart,  and  soul,  and 
strength,  thoughts  would  come  across  him  which  he  con- 
sidered as  diabolical  suggestions ;  and  he  speaks  with  hor- 
ror of  the  agony  which  he  endured  in  resisting  them.  In- 
deed he  was  thoroughly  persuaded  that  he  was  an  especial 
object  of  hatred  to  the  devil.  This  persuasion  supplied  a 
ready  solution  for  the  nervous  affections  to  which  he  was 
subject,  and,  in  all  likelihood,  frequently  produced  those 
abhorred  thoughts,  which  were  to  him  a  confirmation  of  that 
miserable  belief.  Romish  superstition  affords  a  remedy  for 
this  disease;  for,  if  relics  and  images  fail  to  avert  the  fit, 
the  cilice  and  the  scourge  amuse  the  patient  with  the 
belief  that  he  is  adding  to  his  stock  of  merits,  and  distress 
of  mind  is  commuted  for  the  more  tolerable  sense  of  bodily 
pain. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Wesley  kept  up  an  interchange  of 
preachers  between  England  and  Ireland  ;  and  when  Walsh 
was  in  London,  he  preached  in  Irish  at  a  place  called 
Short's  Garden,  and  in  Moorfields.  Many  of  his  poor 
countrymen  were  attracted  by  the  desire  of  hearing  their 
native  tongue  ;  and  as  others  also  gathered  round,  wonder- 
ing at  the  novelty,  he  addressed  them  afterward  in  English. 
But,  on  such  occasions,  mere  sound  and  sympathy  will 
sometimes  do  the  work,  without  the  aid  of  intelligible 

VOL,  11. — G 


146 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


words.*  It  is  related  in  Walsh's  Life,  that  once,  in  Dub- 
lin, when  he  was  preaching  in  Irish,  among  those  who 
were  affected  by  the  discourse,  there  was  one  man  "  cut  to 
the  heart,"  though  he  did  not  understand  the  language. 
Whatever  language  he  used,  he  was  a  powerful  preacher; 
and  contributed  more  than  any  other  man  to  the  diffusion 
of  Methodism  in  Ireland.  All  circumstances  were  as  fa- 
vorable for  the  progress  of  Methodism  in  that  country,  as 
they  were  adverse  to  it  in  Scotland  :  the  inefficiency  of 
the  Established  Church  ;  the  total  want,  not  of  discipline 
alone,  but  of  order ;  and  the  ardor  of  the  Irish  character, 
of  all  people  the  most  quick  and  lively  in  their  affections. 
And  as  his  opposition  to  the  Calvinistic  notions  made  Wes- 
ley unpopular  among  the  Scotch,  in  Ireland  he  obtained  a 
certain  degree  of  favor  for  his  decided  opposition  to  the 
Romish  church  ;  while  he  was  too  wise  a  man  ever  to 
provoke  hostility,  by  introducing  any  disputatious  matter 
in  his  sermons.  After  a  few  years  he  speaks  of  himself  as 
having,  he  knew  not  how,  become  an  honorable  man  there  : 
*'  The  scandal  of  the  cross,"  says  he,  "  is  ceased,  and  all 
the  kingdom,  rich  and  poor.  Papists  and  Protestants,  be- 
have with  courtesy,  nay,  and  seeming  good-will."  Per- 
haps he  was  hardly  sensible  how  much  of  this  was  owing 
to  the  change  which  had  imperceptibly  been  wrought  in 
his  own  conduct,  by  the  sobering  influence  of  time.  The 
ferment  of  his  spirit  had  abated,  and  his  language  had 
become  far  less  indiscreet ;  nor  indeed  had  he  ever,  in 
Ireland,  provoked  the  indignation  of  good  men,  by  the 
extravagances  which  gave  such  just  offense  in  England  at 

♦  The  most  extraordinary  convert  that  ever  was  made,  was  a  certain 
William  Heazley,  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  a  man  who  was  deaf  and 
dumb  from  his  birth.  By  mere  imitation,  and  the  desire  of  being  like 
his  neighbors,  he  was  converted,  in  the  25th  year  of  his  age,  from  a 
profligate  life  ;  for  his  delight  had  been  in  drinking,  cock-fighting,  and 
other  brutal  amusements.  On  the  days  when  the  leader  of  the  Society 
was  expected,  he  used  to  watch  for  him,  and  run  from  house  to  house 
to  assemble  the  people  ;  and  he  would  appear  exceedingly  mortified  if 
the  leader  did  not  address  him  as  he  did  the  others.  This  man  followed 
the  occupation  of  weaving  linen,  and  occasionally  shaving,  which  was 
chiefly  a  Sunday's  work ;  but  after  his  conversion  he  never  would  shave 
any  person  on  the  Sabbath. 

[Rather  unusual  effects  these,  to  be  produced  by  "  the  desire  of  being 
like  his  neighbors!"  Who  ever  heard  of  any  other  instance  of  the 
thorough  reformation  of  a  profligate  Sabbath-breaker  "  by  mere  imita- 
tion?" That  philosophy  ia  wholly  defective,  that  assigns  effects  to 
causes  manifestly  inadequate. — Am.  Ed.} 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


147 


the  beginning  of  his  career.  Some  of  the  higher  clergy, 
therefore,  approved  and  coutitenanced  his  labors ;  and  it 
would  not  have  been  difficult,  in  that  country,  to  have 
made  the  Methodists  as  subservient  to  the  interests  of  the 
Established  Church,  as  the  Regulars  are  to  the  Church  of 
Rome. 

Among  so  susceptible  a  people,  it  might  be  expected 
that  curious  effects  would  frequently  be  produced  by  the 
application  of  so  strong  a  stimulant.  A  lady  wrote  from 
Dublin  to  Mr.  "Wesley  in  the  following  remarkable  words  : 
"  Reverend  sir,  The  most  miserable  and  guilty  of  all  the 
human  race,  who  knew  you  when  she  thought  herself  one 
of  the  happiest,  may  be  ashamed  to  write,  or  speak  to  you, 
in  her  present  condition  ;  but  the  desperate  misery  of  my 
state  makes  me  attempt  any  thing  that  may  be  a  means  of 
removing  it.  My  request  is,  that  you,  dear  sir,  and  such 
of  your  happy  people  who  meet  in  band,  and  ever  heard 
the  name  of  that  miserable  wretch  P.  T.,  would  join  in 
fcisting  and  prayer  on  a  Tuesday,  the  day  on  which  I  was 
born,  that  the  Lord  would  have  mercy  on  me,  and  deliver 
me  from  the  power  of  the  devil,  from  the  most  uncommon 
blasphemies,  and  the  expectation  of  hell,  which  I  labor 
under,  without  power  to  pray,  or  hope  for  mercy.  May 
be  the  Lord  may  change  my  state,  and  have  mercy  on  me, 
for  the  sake  of  his  people's  prayer.  Indeed  I  can  not  pray 
for  myself ;  and,  if  I  could,  I  have  no  hopes  of  being  heard. 
Nevertheless,  He,  seeing  his  people  afflicted  for  me,  may, 
on  that  account,  deliver  me  from  the  power  of  the  devil. 
Oh,  what  a  hell  have  I  upon  earth  !  I  would  not  charge 
God  foolishly,  for  he  has  been  very  merciful  to  me  ;  but  I 
brought  all  this  evil  on  myself  by  sin,  and  by  not  making  a 
right  use  of  his  mercy.  Pray  continually  for  me  ;  for  the 
prayer  of  faith  will  shut  and  open  heaven.  It  may  be  a 
means  of  my  deliverance,  which  will  be  one  of  the  greatest 
miracles  of  mercy  ever  known." 

If  Mr.  Wesley  received  this  letter  in  time,  it  can  not  be 
doubted  but  that  he  would  have  complied  with  the  request. 
The  unhappy  writer  was  in  Swift's  Hospital ;  and,  per- 
haps, in  consequence  of  not  receiving  an  answer  to  her 
letter,  she  got  her  mother  to  address  a  similar  one  to  the 
preacher  at  Cork,  and  he  appointed  two  Tuesdays  to  be 
observed  as  she  had  requested,  both  in  that  city  and  at 
Limerick.  There  may  be  ground  for  reasonable  suspicion 
that  Methodism  had  caused  the  disease.  The  Cork  preacher 


148 


METHODiaM  IN  IRELAND. 


was  apprised,  by  a  brother  at  Dublin,  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  operated  the  cure  :  "  I  have  to  inforai  you  of  the 
mercy  of  God  to  Miss  T,  She  was  brought  from  Swift's 
Hospital  on  Sunday  evening  ;  and  on  Tuesday  night,  about 
ten  o'clock,  she  was  in  the  utmost  distress.  She  thought 
she  saw  Christ  and  Satan  fighting  for  her;  and  that  she 
heard  Christ  say,  '  I  will  have  her!'  In  a  moment,  hope 
sprung  up  in  her  heart ;  the  promises  of  God  flowed  in 
upon  her  :  she  cried  out,  I  am  taken  from  hell  to  heaven  ! 
She  now  declares  she  could  not  tell  whether  she  was  in 
the  body  or  out  of  it.  She  is  much  tempted,  but  in  her 
right  mind,  enjoying  a  sense  of  the  mercy  of  God.  She 
remembers  all  that  is  past,  and  knows  it  was  a  punishment 
for  her  sins."  As  nearly  twenty  years  elapsed  before 
Wesley  published  these  letters,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
the  cure  was  permanent. 

"  Are  there  any  drunkards  here  V*  said  a  preacher  one 
day  in  his  sermon,  applying  his  discourse  in  that  manner 
which  the  Methodists  have  found  so  effectual.  A  poor 
Irishman  looked  up,  and  replied,  "Yes,  I  am  one!"  And 
the  impression  which  he  then  received,  enabled  him  to 
throw  off  his  evil  habits,  and  become,  from  that  day  for- 
ward, a  reclaimed  man.  The  Methodists  at  Wexford  met 
in  a  long  barn,  and  used  to  fasten  the  door,  because  they 
were  annoyed  by  a  Catholic  mob.  Being  thus  excluded 
from  the  meeting,  the  mob  became  curious  to  know  what 
was  done  there  :  and  taking  counsel  together,  they  agreed 
that  a  fellow  should  get  in  and  secrete  himself  before  the 
congregation  assembled,  so  that  he  might  see  all  that  was 
going  on,  and,  at  a  proper  time,  let  in  his  companions. 
The  adventurer  could  find  no  better  means  of  concealment 
than  by  getting  into  a  sack  which  he  found  there,  and 
lying  down  in  a  situation  near  the  entrance.  The  people 
collected,  secured  the  door  as  usual,  and,  as  usual,  began 
their  service  by  singing.  The  mob  collected  also,  and, 
growing  impatient,  called  repeatedly  upon  their  friend 
Patrick  to  open  the  door  ;  but  Pat  happened  to  have  a  taste 
for  music,  and  he  liked  the  singing  so  well,  that  he  thought, 
as  he  afterward  said,  it  would  be  a  thousand  pities  to  dis- 
turb it.  And  when  the  hymn  was  done,  and  the  itinerant 
began  to  pray,  in  spite  of  all  the  vociferation  of  his  com- 
rades, he  thought  that,  as  he  had  been  so  well  pleased 
with  the  singing,  he  would  see  how  he  liked  the  prayer  ; 
but,  when  the  prayer  proceeded,  "  the  power  of  God," 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


149 


says  the  relater,  "  did  so  confound  him,  that  he  roared  out 
with  might  and  main  ;  and  not  having  power  to  get  out  of 
the  sack,  lay  bawling  and  screaming,  to  the  astonishment 
and  dismay  of  the  congregation,  who  probably  supposed 
that  Satan  himself  was  in  the  barn.  Somebody,  at  last, 
ventured  to  see  what  was  in  the  sack;  and  helping  him 
out,  brought  him  up,  confessing  his  sins,  and  crying  for 
mercy."  This  is  the  most  comical  case  of  instantaneous 
conversion  that  ever  was  recorded,  and  yet  the  man  is  said 
to  have  been  thoroughly  converted. 

A  memorable  instance  of  the  good  effects  produced  by 
Methodism  was  shown,  in  a  case  of  shipwreck  upon  the 
isle  of  Cale,  off  the  coast  of  the  county  of  Down.  There 
were  several  Methodist  societies  in  that  neighborhood,  and 
some  of  the  members  went  wrecking  with  the  rest  of  the 
people,  and  others  bought,  or  received  presents  of  the 
plundered  goods.  As  soon  as  John  Prickard,  who  was  at 
that  time  traveling  in  the  Lisburn  circuit,  heard  of  this,  he 
hastened  to  inquire  into  it,  and  found  that  all  the  societies, 
except  one,  had,  more  or  less,  *'  been  partakers  of  the  ac- 
cursed thing."  Upon  this  he  preached  repentance  and 
restitution  ;  and,  with  an  almost  broken  heart,  read  out 
sixty-three  members  on  the  following  Sunday,  in  Down- 
patrick ;  giving  notice  that  those  who  would  make  restitu- 
tion should  be  restored,  at  a  proper  time ;  but  that  for  those 
who  would  not,  their  names'  should  be  recorded  in  the  gen- 
eral steward's  book,  with  an  account  of  their  crime  and  ob- 
stinacy. This  severity  produced  much  of  its  desired  effect, 
and  removed  the  reproach  which  would  otherwise  have 
attached  to  the  Methodists.  Some  persons  who  did  not  be- 
long to  the  society,  but  had  merely  attended  as  hearers, 
were  so  much  affected  by  the  exhortation  and  the  exam- 
ple, that  they  desired  to  make  restitution  with  them.  The 
owners  of  the  vessel  empowered  Prickard  to  allow  salvage ; 
but,  with  a  proper  degree  of  austerity,  he  refused  to  do  this, 
because  the  people,  in  the  first  instance,  had  been  guilty 
of  a  crime.  This  affair  deservedly  raised  the  character  of 
the  Methodists  in  those  parts ;  and  it  was  observed,  by  the 
gentry  in  the  neighborhood,  that,  if  the  ministers  of  every 
other  persuasion  had  acted  as  John  Prickard  did,  most  of 
the  goods  might  have  been  saved. 

"  Although  I  had  many  an  aching  head  and  pained 
breast,"  says  one  of  the  itinerants,  speaking  of  his  cam- 
paigns in  Ireland,  "  yet  it  was  delightful  to  see  hundreds 


150 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


attending  to  my  blundering  preaching,  with  streaming  eyes, 
and  attention  still  as  night."  The  damp,  dirty,  smoky 
cabins*  of  Ulster,"  says  another,  "  were  a  good  trial  ;  but 
what  makes  a  double  amends  for  all  these  inconveniences, 
to  any  preacher  who  loves  the  word  of  God,  is,  that  our 
people  here  are,  in  general,  the  most  zealous,  lively,  affec- 
tionate Christians  we  have  in  the  kingdom."  Wesley  him- 
self, while  he  shuddered  at  the  ferocious  character  of  Irish 
history,  loved  the  people;  and  said  he  had  seen  as  real 
courtesy  in  their  cabins  as  could  be  found  at  St.  James's, 
or  the  Louvre.    He  found  them  more  liberal  than  the  En- 

*  There  is  a  letter  of  advice  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  one  of  his  Insh 
preachers  (written  in  1769),  which  gives  a  curious  picture  of  the  peo- 
ple for  whom  such  advice  could  be  needful : — "  Dear  brother,"  he  says, 
"  I  shall  now  tell  you  the  things  which  have  been  more  or  less  upon 
my  mind  ever  since  I  was  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  If  you  forget  them, 
you  will  be  a  sufferer,  and  so  will  the  people ;  if  you  observ  e  them,  it 
will  be  good  for  both.  Be  steadily  serious.  There  is  no  country  upon 
earth  where  this  is  more  necessary  than  Ireland,  as  you  are  generally 
encompassed  with  those  who,  with  a  little  encouragement,  would  laugh 
or  trifle  from  morning  till  night.  In  every  town  visit  all  you  can,  from 
house  to  house ;  but,  on  this  and  every  other  occasion,  avoid  all  familiar- 
ity with  women :  this  is  deadly  poison,  both  to  them  and  to  you.  You 
cannot  be  too  wary  in  this  respect.  Be  active,  be  diligent;  avoid  all 
laziness,  sloth,  indolence ;  fly  from  every  degree,  every  appearance  of 
it,  else  you  will  never  be  more  than  half  a  Christian.  Be  cleanly :  in 
this  let  the  Methodists  take  pattern  by  the  Quakers.  Avoid  all  nasti- 
ness,  dirt,  slovenliness,  both  in  your  person,  clothes,  house,  and  all  about 
you.    Do  not  stink  above  ground ! 

'  Let  thy  mind's  sweetness  have  its  operation 
Upon  thy  person,  clothes,  and  habitation.' — Herbert. 

Whatever  clothes  you  have,  let  them  be  whole  :  no  rents,  no  tatters,  no 
rags ;  these  are  a  scandal  to  either  man  or  woman,  being  another  fruit 
of  vile  laziness.  Mend  your  clothes,  or  I  shall  never  expect  to  see  you 
mend  your  lives.  Let  none  ever  see  a  ragged  Methodist.  Clean  your- 
selves of  lice  :  take  pains  in  this.  Do  not  cut  off  your  hair  ;  but  clean 
it,  and  keep  it  clean.  Cure  yourself  and  your  family  of  the  itch :  a 
spoonful  of  brimstone  will  cure  you.  To  let  this  run  from  year  to  year, 
proves  both  sloth  and  uncleanness :  away  with  it  at  once  ;  let  not  the 
North  be  any  longer  a  proverb  of  reproach  to  all  the  nation.  Use  no 
snuff,  unless  prescribed  by  a  physician.  I  suppose  no  other  nation 
in  Europe  is  in  such  vile  bondage  to  this  silly,  nasty,  dirty  custom,  as 
the  Irish  are.  Touch  no  dram:  it  is  liquid  fire;  it  is  a  sure,  though 
slow,  poison;  it  saps  the  very  springs  of  life.  In  Ireland,  above  all 
countries  in  the  world,  I  would  sacredly  abstain  from  this,  because  the 
e\'il  is  so  general ;  and  to  this,  and  snuff,  and  smoky  cabins,  I  impute 
the  blindness  which  is  so  exceedingly  common  throughout  the  nation. 
I  particularly  desire,  wherever  you  have  preaching,  that  there  may  be 
a  little  house.  Let  this  be  got  without  delay.  Wherever  it  is  not,  let 
none  expect  to  see  me." 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


151 


glish  Methodists,*  and  he  lived  to  see  a  larger  society  at 
Dublin  than  any  in  England,  except  that  in  the  metrop- 
olis. 

♦  "  The  meeting-house  at  Athlone  was  built  and  given,  with  the 
ground  on  which  it  stood,  by  a  single  gentleman.  In  Cork,  one  per- 
son, Mr.  Thomas  Jones,  gave  between  three  and  four  hundred  pounds 
toward  the  preaching-house.  Toward  that  in  Dublin,  Mr.  Lunell  gave 
four  hundred  pounds.  I  know  no  such  benefactors  among  the  Method- 
ists in  England." — Journal  xvi.,  p.  23. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


WESLEY  IN  MEDDLE  AGE. 

It  is  with  the  minds  of  men  as  with  fermented  liquors ; 
they  are  long  in  ripening,  in  proportion  to  their  strength. 
Both  the  Wesleys  had  much  to  work  off;  and  the  process, 
therefore,  was  of  long  continuance.  In  Charles  it  was  per- 
fected about  middle  life.  His  enthusiasm  had  spent  itself, 
and  his  opinions  were  modified  by  time,  as  well  as  sobered 
by  experience.  In  the  forty-first  year  of  his  age  he  was 
married  by  his  brother,  at  Garth,  in  Brecknockshire,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Gwynne.  "  It  was  a  solemn  day,"  says  John, 
*'  such  as  became  the  dignity  of  a  Christian  marriage." 
For  a  while  he  continued  to  itinerate,  as  he  had  been  wont ; 
but,  after  a  few  years,  he  became  a  settled  man,  and  was 
contented  to  perform  the  duties  and  enjoy  the  comforts  of 
domestic  life. 

John  also  began  to  think  of  marriage,  after  his  brother's 
example,  though  he  had  published  *'  Thoughts  on  a  Single 
Life,"  wherein  he  advised  all  unmarried  persons,  who  were 
able  to  receive  it,  to  follow  the  counsel  of  our  Lord  and  of 
St.  Paul,  and  "  remain  single  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven's 
sake."  He  did  not,  indeed,  suppose  that  such  a  precept 
could  have  been  intended  for  the  many,  and  assented  fully 
to  the  sentence  of  the  apostle,  who  pronounced  the  for- 
bidding to  marry  to  be  a  doctrine  of  devils."  Some  no- 
tion, however,  that  the  marriage  state  was  incompatible 
with  holiness,  seems,  in  consequence,  perhaps,  of  this  treat- 
ise, to  have  obtained  ground  among  some  of  his  followers 
at  one  time  ;  for  it  was  asked,  at  the  Conference  of  1745, 
whether  a  sanctified  believer  could  be  capable  of  marriage. 
The  answer  was,  "  Why  should  he  not  V  And  probably 
the  question  was  asked  for  the  purpose  of  thus  condemning 
a  preposterous  opinion.  When  he  himself  resolved  to  mar- 
ry, it  appears  that  he  made  both  his  determination  and  his 
choice  without  the  knowledge  of  Charles;  and  that  Charles, 
when  he  discovered  the  affair,  found  means,  for  reasons 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


153 


which  undoubtedly  he  must  have  thought  sufficient,  to  break 
off  the  match.  But  John  was  offended,  and  for  a  time  there 
was  a  breach  of  that  union  between  them  which  had  never 
before  been  disturbed.  It  was  not  long  before  he  made  a 
second  choice,  and,  unfortunately  for  himself,  no  one  then 
interfered. 

The  treatise  which  he  had  written  in  recommendation 
of  celibacy  placed  him  in  an  unfortunate  situation;  and,  for 
the  sake  of  appearances,  he  consulted  certain  religious 
friends,  that  they  might  advise  him  to  follow  his  own  in- 
clination. His  chief  counselor  was  Mr.  Perronet,  Vicar 
of  Shoreham.  "  Having  received  a  full  answer  from  Mr. 
Perronet,"  he  says,  "  I  was  clearly  convinced  that  I  ought 
to  marry.  For  many  years  I  remained  single,  because  I 
believed  I  could  be  more  useful  in  a  single  than  in  a  mar- 
ried state ;  and  I  praised  God  who  enabled  me  so  to  do. 
I  now  as  fully  believed  that,  in  my  present  circumstances, 
I  might  be  more  useful  in  a  married  state  ;  into  which,  upon 
this  clear  conviction,  and  by  the  advice  of  my  friends,  I  en- 
tered a  few  days  after."  He  thought  it  expedient,  too,  to 
meet  the  single  men  of  the  society  in  London,  and  show 
them  "  on  how  many  accounts  it  was  good  for  those  who 
had  received  that  gift  from  God,  to  remain  single  for  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven's  sake,  unless  when  a  particular  case 
might  be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  !"  To  those 
who  properly  respected  Mr.  Wesley,  this  must  have  been  a 
painful  scene ;  to  his  blind  admirers,  no  doubt,  comic  as  the 
situation  was,  it  was  an  edifying  one. 

The  lady  whom  he  married  was  a  widow,  by  name 
Vizelle,  with  four  children,*  and  an  independent  fortune ; 
but  he  took  care  that  this  should  be  settled  upon  herself, 
and  refused  to  have  any  command  over  it.  It  was  agreed, 
also,  before  their  marriage,  that  he  should  not  preach  one 
sermon,  nor  travel  one  mile  the  less,  on  that  account :  "  if 

*  One  of  them  quitted  the  profession  of  surgery,  because,  he  said,  "  it 
made  him  less  sensible  of  human  pain."  Wesley  says,  when  he  re- 
lates this,  "  I  do  not  know  (unless  it  unfits  us  for  the  duties  of  life)  that 
we  can  have  too  great  a  sensibility  of  human  pain.  Methinks  I  should 
be  afraid  of  losing  any  degree  of  this  sensibility.  And  I  have  known 
exceeding  few  persons  who  have  carried  this  tenderness  of  spirit  to  ex- 
cess." He  appears  to  have  mentioned  the  conduct  of  his  son-in-law  as 
to  his  honor;  but  he  relates  elsewhere  the  saying  of  another  surgeon 
in  a  right  manly  spirit — "  Mr.  Wesley,  you  know  I  would  not  hurt  a 
fly  ;  I  would  not  give  pain  to  any  hving  thing  ;  but  if  it  were  necessary. 
]  would  scrape  all  the  flesh  off  a  man's  bones,  and  never  turn  my  head 
aside." 

G* 


154 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


I  thought  I  should,"  said  he,  "as  well  as  I  love  you,  I 
would  never  see  your  face  more."  And  in  his  Journal,  at 
this  time,  he  says,  *'  I  can  not  understand  how  a  Methodist 
preacher  can  answer  it  to  God,  to  preach  one  sermon,  or 
travel  one  day  less,  in  a  married  than  in  a  single  state.  In 
this  respect,  surely,  it  remaineth,  that  they  who  have  wives, 
be  as  though  they  had  none."  For  a  little  while  she  trav- 
eled with  him  ;  but  that  mode  of  life,  and,  perhaps,  the  sort 
of  company  to  which,  in  the  course  of  their  journeys,  she 
was  introduced,  soon  became  intolerable — as  it  must  neces- 
sarily have  been  to  any  woman  who  did  not  enter  wholly  into 
his  views  and  partake  of  his  enthusiasm.  But,  of  all  wom- 
en, she  is  said  to  have  been  the  most  unsuited  to  him. 
Fain  would  she  have  made  him,  like  Marc  Antony,  give  up 
all  for  love ;  and,  being  disappointed  in  that  hope,  she  tor- 
mented him  in  such  a  manner,  by  her  outrageous  jealousy, 
and  abominable  temper,  that  she  deserves  to  be  classed  in 
a  triad  with  Xantippe  and  the  wife  of  Job,  as  one  of  the 
three  bad  wives.  Wesley,  indeed,  was  neither  so  submis- 
sive as  Socrates,  nor  so  patient  as  the  man  of  Uz.*  He 
knew  that  he  was  by  nature  the  stronger  vessel,  of  the  more 
worthy  gender,  and  lord  and  master  by  law;  and  that  the 
words,  honor  and  obey,  were  in  the  bond.  "  Know  me," 
said  he,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  her,  "and  know  yourself 
Suspect  me  no  more,  asperse  me  no  more,  provoke  me  no 
more  :  do  not  any  longer  contend  for  mastery,  for  power, 
money,  or  praise;  be  content  to  be  a  private,  insignificant 
person,  known  and  loved  by  God  and  me.  Attempt  no 
more  to  abridge  me  of  my  liberty,  which  I  claim  by  the 
laws  of  God  and  man:  leave  me  to  be  governed  by  God 
and  my  own  conscience  :  then  shall  I  govern  you  with 
gentle  sway,  even  as  Christ  the  Church."  He  reminded 
her  that  she  had  laid  to  his  charge  things  that  he  knew  not, 
robbed  him,  betrayed  his  confidence,  revealed  his  secrets, 
given  him  a  thousand  treacherous  wounds,  and  made  it  her 
business  so  to  do,  under  the  pretense  of  vindicating  her 
own  character;  "  whereas,"  said  he,  "  of  what  importance 
is  your  character  to  mankind  1    If  you  was  buried  just  now, 

*  ["Mr.  Southey,"  says  the  daughter  of  Charles  Wesley,  "did  not 
know  him  or  any  of  his  family.  My  father  used  to  say  that  his  broth- 
er's patience  toward  his  wife  exceeded  all  bounds.  The  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Wesley  was  an  indubitable  witness  of  his  forbearance,  and  bore 
her  testimony  of  it ;  so  did  many  who  knew  of  the  treatment  which  he 
bore  without  complaint  or  reproach." — Am.  Ed.'] 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


155 


OB  if  you  had  never  lived,  what  loss  would  it  be  to  the  cause 
of  God  V  This  was  very  true,  but  not  very  conciliating; 
and  there  are  few  stomachs  which  could  bear  to  have  hu- 
mility administered  in  such  doses. 

"  God,"  said  he,  in  this  same  letter,  "  has  used  many 
means  to  curb  your  stubborn  will,  and  break  the  impetu- 
osity of  your  temper.  He  has  given  you  a  dutiful,  but 
sickly,  daughter.  He  has  taken  away  one  of  your  sons  ; 
another  has  been  a  grievous  cross,  as  the  third  probably 
will  be.  He  has  suffered  you  to  be  defrauded  of  much 
money ;  He  has  chastened  you  with  strong  pain  ;  and  still 
He  may  say,  How  long  liftest  thou  up  thyself  against  me  1 
Are  you  more  humble,  more  gentle,  more  patient,  more 
placable  than  you  was  1  I  fear,  quite  the  reverse  :  I  fear 
your  natural  tempers  are  rather  increased  than  diminished. 
Under  all  these  conflicts,  it  might  be  an  unspeakable  bless- 
ing that  you  have  a  husband  who  knows  your  temper,  and 
can  bear  with  it ;  who  is  still  willing  to  forgive  you  all,  to 
overlook  what  is  past,  as  if  it  had  not  been,  and  to  receive 
you  with  open  arms  ;  only  not  while  you  have  a  sword  in 
your  hand,  with  which  you  are  continually  striking  at  me, 
though  you  can  not  hurt  me.  If,  notwithstanding,  you 
continue  striking,  what  can  I,  what  can  all  reasonable 
men  think,  but  that  either  you  are  utterly  out  of  your 
senses,  or  your  eye  is  not  single  ;  that  you  married  me 
only  for  my  money  ;  that,  being  disappointed,  you  was 
almost  always  out  of  humor  :  that  this  laid  you  open  to  a 
thousand  suspicions,  which,  once  awakened,  could  sleep 
no  more.  My  dear  Molly,  let  the  time  past  suffice.  If 
you  have  not  (to  prevent  my  giving  it  to  bad  women) 
robbed  me  of  my  substance  too;  if  you  do  not  blacken  me, 
on  purpose  that,  when  this  causes  a  breach  between  us,  no 
one  may  believe  it  to  be  your  fault ;  stop,  and  consider 
what  you  do.  As  yet  the  breach  may  be  repaired  :  you 
have  wronged  me  much,  but  not  beyond  forgiveness.  I 
love  you  still,  and  am  as  clear  from  all  other  women  as  the 
day  I  was  born." 

Had  Mrs.  Wesley  been  capable  of  understanding  her 
husband's  character,  she  could  not  possibly  have  been 
jealous  ;  but  the  spirit  of  jealousy  possessed  her,  and  drove 
her  to  the  most  unwarrantable  actions.  It  is  said  that  she 
frequently  traveled  a  hundred  miles,  for  the  purpose  of 
watching,  from  a  window,  who  was  in  the  carriage  with 
him  when  he  entered  a  town.    She  searched  his  pockets, 


156 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


opened  his  letters,*  put  his  letters  and  papers  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  in  hopes  that  they  might  he  made 
use  of  to  blast  his  character ;  and  sometimes  laid  violent 

*  There  is  no  allusion  in  Wesley's  Journal  to  his  domestic  unbappi- 
ness,  unless  it  be  in  Journal  xi.,  p.  9  ;  where,  after  noticing  some  diffi- 
culties upon  the  road,  be  says,  "  Between  nine  and  ten,  came  to  Bristol. 
Here  I  met  wath  a  trial  of  another  kind  :  but  this  also  shall  be  for  good." 
His  letters  throw  some  light  upon  this  part  of  his  history,  which  would 
not  be  worth  elucidating,  if  it  did  not  at  the  same  time  elucidate  his 
character.  Writing  to  Mrs.  S.  R.  (Sarah  Ryeui,  a  most  enthusiastic 
woman),  he  says,  "  Last  Friday,  after  many  severe  words,  my  wife  left 
me,  vowing  she  would  see  me  no  more.  As  I  had  wrote  to  you  the 
same  morning,  I  began  to  reason  with  myself,  till  I  almost  doubted 
whether  I  had  done  well  in  writing,  or  whether  I  ought  to  write  to 
you  at  all.  After  prayer,  that  doubt  was  taken  away  ;  yet  I  was  almost 
sorry  that  I  had  written  that  morning.  In  the  evening,  while  I  was 
preaching  at  the  chapel,  she  came  into  the  chamber  where  I  had  left 
my  clothes,  searched  my  pockets,  and  found  the  letter  there  which  I 
had  finished,  but  had  not  sealed.  While  she  read  it,  God  broke  her 
heart ;  and  I  afterward  found  her  in  such  a  temper  as  I  have  not  seen 
her  in  for  several  years.  She  has  continued  in  the  same  ever  since. 
So  I  think  God  has  given  a  sufficient  answer  with  regard  to  our  writing 
to  each  other."  But  he  says  to  the  same  person,  eight  years  afterward, 
"It  has  frequently  been  said,  and  with  some  appearance  of  truth,  that 
you  endeavor  to  monopolize  the  affections  of  all  that  fall  into  your  hands  ; 
that  you  destroy  the  nearest  and  dearest  connection  they  had  before, 
and  make  them  quite  cool  and  indifferent  to  their  most  intimate  friends. 
I  do  not  at  aU  speak  on  my  own  account ;  I  set  myself  out  of  the  ques- 
tion :  but,  if  there  be  any  thing  of  the  kind  with  regard  to  other  people, 
I  should  be  sony  both  for  them  and  you." 

There  is  an  unction  about  his  correspondence  with  this  person,  which 
must  have  appeared  Hke  strong  confirmation  to  so  jealous  a  woman  as 
Mrs.  Wesley.  He  says  to  her,  "The  conversing  with  you,  either  by 
speaking  or  writing,  is  an  unspeakable  blessing  to  me.  I  can  not  think 
of  you  without  thinking  of  God.  Others  often  lead  me  to  him ;  but  it 
is  as  it  were  going  round  about ;  you  bring  me  sti-aight  into  his  presence. 
You  have  refreshed  my  bowels  in  the  Lord.  (Wesley  is  very  seldom 
guilty  of  this  sort  of  canting  and  offensive  language. )  I  not  only  excuse, 
but  love  your  simplicity  ;  and  whatever  freedom  you  use,  it  will  be 
welcome.  I  can  hardly  avoid  trembling  for  you !  Upon  what  a  pin- 
nacle do  you  stand  .'  Perhaps  few  persons  in  England  have  been  in  so 
dangerous  a  situation  as  you  are  now.  I  know  not  whether  any  other 
was  ever  so  regarded,  both  by  my  brother  and  me,  at  the  same  time.^ 
He  questions  her,  not  only  about  her  thoughts,  her  imaginations,  and 
her  reasonings,  but  even  about  her  dreams  :  "  Is  there  no  vanitj-  or 
folly  in  your  dreams?  no  temptation,  that  almost  overcomes  you  ?  And 
are  you  then  as  sensible  of  the  presence  of  God,  and  as  full  of  prayer, 
as  when  you  are  waking?"  She  replies  to  this  curious  interrogation, 
"  As  to  my  dreams,  I  seldom  remember  them ;  but  when  I  do,  I  find  in 
general  they  are  harmless."  This  Sarah  Ryan  was  at  one  time  house- 
keeper at  the  School  at  Kingswood.  Her  account  of  herself,  which  is 
printed  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Arrainian  Magazine,  is  highly 
enthusiastic,  and  shows  her  to  have  been  a  woman  of  heated  fancy  and 
•trong  natural  talents.    It  appears,  however,  incidciitully,  iu  Wesley's 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


157 


hands  upon  him,  and  tore  his  hair.  She  frequently  loft  his 
house,  and,  upon  his  earnest  entreaties,  returned  again  ; 
till,  after  having  thus  disquieted  twenty  years  of  his  life,  as 
far  as  it  was  possible  for  any  domestic  vexations  to  disquiet 
a  man  whose  life  was  passed  in  locomotion,  she  seized  on 
part  of  his  Journals,  and  many  other  papers,  which  were 
never  restored,  and  departed,  leaving  word  that  she  never 
intended  to  return.  He  simply  states  the  fact  in  his  Jour- 
nal, saying,  that  he  knew  not  what  the  cause  had  been  ; 
and  he  briefly  adds,  Non  earn  rel  'iqui,non  dimisi,  non  revo- 
cabo  ;  I  did  not  forsake  her,  I  did  not  dismiss  her,  I  will 
not  recall  her."  Thus,  summarily,  was  a  most  injudicious 
marriage  dissolved.*  Mrs.  Wesley  lived  ten  years  after 
the  separation,  and  is  described  in  her  epitaph  as  a  woman 
of  exemplary  piety,  a  tender  parent,  and  a  sincere  friend  : 
the  tombstone  says  nothing  of  her  conjugal  virtues. 

But  even  if  John  Wesley's  marriage  had  proved  as 
happy  in  all  other  respects  as  Cliarles's,  it  would  not  have 
produced  upon  him  the  same  sedative  effect.  Entirely  as 
these  two  brothers  agreed  in  opinions  and  principles,  and 
cordially  as  they  had  acted  together  during  so  many  years, 
there  was  a  radical  difference  in  their  dispositions.  Of 
Charles  it  has  been  said,  by  those  who  knew  him  best,  that 
if  ever  there  was  a  human  being  who  disliked  power, 
avoided  preeminence,  and  shrunk  from  praise,  it  was  he  : 
whereas  no  conqueror  or  poet  was  ever  more  ambitious 
than  John  Wesley.t  Charles  could  forgive  an  injury  ;  but 
never  again  trusted  one  whom  he  had  found  treacherous. 
John  could  take  men  a  second  time  to  his  confidence,  after 
the  greatest  wrongs  and  the  basest  usage :  perhaps,  because 
he  had  not  so  keen  an  insight  into  the  characters  of  men 
as  his  brother ;  perhaps,  because  he  regarded  them  as  his 
instruments,  and  thought  that  all  other  considerations  must 
give  way  to  the  interests  of  the  spiritual  dominion  which 
he  had  acquired.  It  may  be  suspected  that  Charles,  when 
he  saw  the  mischief  and  the  villainy,  as  well  as  the  follies, 

letter,  that  though  she  professed  to  have  "  a  direct  witness"  of  being 
saved  from  sin,  she  afterward  "fell  from  that  salvation."    And  in 
another  place  he  notices  her  "  littleness  of  understanding." 
*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXII.— ^w.  Ed.] 

t  [Can  the  reader  believe  that  this  John  Wesley  is  the  same  person 
whom  this  same  Robert  Southey  describes  as  one  who  "loved  the  Lord 
with  all  his  heart?"  Respecting  this  ever  recurring  charge  of  ambi- 
tion, see  the  "  Remarks  on  the  Character  of  Wesley,"  by  Alexander 
Knox,  appended  to  these  volumes. — Am.  Ed.'] 


158 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


to  which  Methodism  gave  occasion  ;  and  when  he  perceived 
its  tendency  to  a  separation  from  the  Church,  tliought  that 
he  had  gone  too  far,  and  looked  with  sorrow  to  the  conse- 
quences which  he  foresaw.*  John's  was  an  aspiring  and  a 
joyous  spirit,  free  from  all  regret  for  the  past,  or  appre- 
hension for  the  future  :  his  anticipations  were  always  hope- 
ful ;  and,  if  circumstances  arose  contrary  to  his  wishes, 
which  he  was  unable  to  control,  he  accommodated  himself 
to  them,  made  what  advantage  of  them  he  could,  and  in- 
sensibly learned  to  expect  with  complacency,  as  the  inevi- 
table end  of  his  career,  a  schism  which  at  the  commence- 
ment he  would  have  regarded  with  horror,  as  a  dutiful  and 
conscientious  minister  of  the  Church  of  England. 

In  the  first  Conference  it  was  asked,  "  Do  you  not  entail 
a  schism  on  the  Church  ?  Is  it  not  probable  that  your 
hearers,  after  your  death,  will  be  scattered  into  all  sects 
and  parties  ]  or  that  they  will  form  themselves  into  a  dis- 
tinct sect^'  The  answer  was,  "We  are  persuaded  the 
body  of  our  hearers  will,  even  after  our  death,  remain  in 
the  Church,  unless  ihey  be  thrust  out.  We  believe,  not- 
withstanding, either  that  they  will  be  thrust  out,  or  that 
they  will  leaven  the  whole  Church.  We  do,  and  will  do, 
all  we  can  to  prevent  those  consequences  which  are  sup- 
posed likely  to  happen  after  our  death  ;  but  we  can  not, 
with  a  good  conscience,  neglect  the  present  opportunity  of 
saving  souls  while  we  live,  for  fear  of  consequences  which 
may  possibly  or  probably  happen  after  we  are  dead." 
Five  years  afterward  the  assistants  were  charged  to  exhort 
all  those  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Church,  con- 
stantly to  attend  its  service,  to  question  them  individually 
concerning  this,  to  set  the  example  themselves,  and  to  alter 
every  plan  which  interfered  with  it.  **  Is  there  not,"  it 
was  said,  "  a  cause  for  this  1  Are  we  not,  unawares,  by 
little  and  little,  tending  to  a  separation  from  the  Church  ] 
Oh,  remove  every  tendency  thereto  with  all  diligence  !  Let 
all  our  preachers  go  to  church.    Let  all  our  people  go 

*  [On  this  passage  the  daughter  of  Charles  Wesley,  a  woman  whose 
learning  and  sound  judgment  give  great  weight  to  her  opinions,  re- 
marks :  "  My  father  no  more  thought  that  '  mischief,  \Tllainy,  and  folly/ 
were  occasioned  by  Methodism  than  by  Christianity,  which  infidels 
affirm.  He  certainly  regretted  any  tendency  to  separation  from  the 
Church;  but  he  loved  the  Methodists  to  the  last,  did  justice  to  their 
lives  and  principles,  and  always  considered  them  as  raised  up  to 
be  auxiliaries  to  the  Church,  and  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good 
works."— ^wi.  Ed.2 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


159 


constantly.  Receive  the  sacrament  at  every  opportunity. 
Warn  all  against  niceness  in  hearing — a  great  and  prevail- 
ing evil :  warn  them  likewise  against  despising  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  ;  against  calling  our  Society  a  church,  or  the 
Church  ;  against  calling  our  preachers  ministers,  our  houses 
meeting-houses  :  call  them  plain  preaching-houses.  Do  not 
license  them  as  such.  The  proper  form  of  a  petition  to  the 
Judges  is,  *  A,  B.  desires  to  have  his  house  in  C.  licensed 
for  public  worship.'  Do  not  license  yourself  till  you  are 
constrained,  and  then  not  as  a  Dissenter,  but  a  Methodist 
preacher.  It  is  time  enough  when  you  are  prosecuted,  to 
take  the  oaths ;  thereby  you  are  licensed." 

The  leaven  of  ill-will  toward  the  Church  was  introduced 
among  the  Methodists  by  those  dissenters  who  joined  them. 
Wesley  saw  whence  it  proceeded,  and  was  prepared  to 
resist  its  effect  by  the  feelings  which  he  had  imbibed  from 
his  father,*  as  well  as  by  his  sense  of  duty.  But  there 
were  other  causes  which  increased  and  strengthened  the 
tendency  that  had  thus  been  given.  It  is  likely  that,  when 
the  Nonjurors  disappeared  as  a  separate  party,  many  of 
them  would  unite  with  the  Methodists,  being  a  middle 
course  between  the  Church  and  the  Dissenters,  which  re- 
quired no  sacrifice  either  of  principle  or  of  pride. t  Having 
joined  them,  their  leaning  would  naturally  be  toward  a 
separation  from  the  Establishment.  But  the  main  cause  is 
to  be  found  in  the  temper  of  the  lay  preachers,  who,  by  an 

*  "A  thousand  times,"  says  he,  "have  I  found  my  father's  w^ords 
true :  '  You  may  have  peace  with  the  Dissenters,  if  you  do  not  so  humor 
them  as  to  dispute  with  them.  But  if  you  do,  they  will  out-face  and 
out-lung  you;  and,  at  the  end,  you  will  be  where  you  were  at  the 
beginning.' " 

t  ["The  great  causes  which  have  led  to  separation  as  far  as  it  is 
gone,  have  not  been  understood  by  Mr.  Southey.  It  is  perfectly  ima- 
ginary to  suppose  that  any  disposition  to  this  was  produced  by  the  non- 
jurors connecting  themselves  with  the  Methodists  when  they  disap- 
peared as  a  separate  body,  for  perhaps  twenty  of  them  never  became 
members.  It  is  also  gratuitously  assumed  that  many  dissenters  espoused 
Methodism,  from  whom  a  "  leaven  of  ill-will  to  the  Church"  has  been 
derived.  Not  so  many  persons  of  this  description  ever  became  Method- 
ists as  to  produce  much  effect  upon  the  opinions  of  the  body  at  large. 
Nor  was  the  cause  "  the  natural  tendency  of  Mr.  Wesley's  measures," 
considered  simply.  Of  themselves  those  measures  did  not  produce 
separation;  it  resulted  from  circumstances,  which,  of  course,  Mr.  Southey 
would  not  be  disposed  to  bring  into  view,  if  he  knew  them  ;  but  which 
were,  in  fact,  the  operating  causes  in  chief.  The  true  causes  were — 
that  the  clergy,  generally,  did  not  preach  the  doctrines  of  their  own 
Church  and  of  the  Reformation ;  and  that  many  of  them  did  not  adorn 
their  profession  in  their  lives." — Rev.  R.  Watson. — Am.  Ed.} 


160 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


easy  and  obvious  process,  were  led  to  conclude,  that  they 
were  as  much  authorized  to  exercise  one  part  of  the  min- 
isterial functions  as  another.  They  had  been  taught  to 
consider,  and  were  accustomed  to  represent  the  clergy  in 
the  most  unfavorable  light.  Wesley  sometimes  repre- 
hended this  in  strong  terms  :  but,  upon  this  point,  he  was 
not  consistent;  and  whenever  he  had  to  justify  the  appoint- 
ment of  lay  preachers,  he  was  apt,  in  self-defense,  to  com- 
mit the  fault  which,  at  other  times,  he  condemned.  "  I  am 
far,"  says  he,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  from  desiring  to 
aggravate  the  defects  of  my  brethren,  or  to  paint  them  in 
the  strongest  colors.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  treat  others  as 
I  have  been  treated  myself;  to  return  evil  for  evil,  or  rail- 
ing for  railing.  But,  to  speak  the  naked  truth,  not  with 
anger  or  contempt,  as  too  many  have  done,  I  acknowledge 
that  many,  if  not  most  of  those  that  were  appointed  to 
minister  in  holy  things,  with  whom  it  has  been  my  lot  to 
converse,  in  almost  every  part  of  England  or  Ireland,  for 
forty  or  fifty  years  last  past,  have  not  been  eminent  either 
for  knowledge  or  piety.  It  has  been  loudly  affirmed,  that 
most  of  those  persons  now  in  connection  with  me,  who 
believe  it  their  duty  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  having 
been  taken  immediately  from  low  trades — tailors,  shoe- 
makers, and  the  like,  are  a  set  of  poor,  stupid,  illiterate 
men,  that  scarcely  know  their  right  hand  from  their  left; 
yet  I  can  not  but  say,  that  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  right 
hand  than  suffer  one  of  them  to  speak  a  word  in  any  of 
our  chapels,  if  I  had  not  reasonable  proof  that  he  had  more 
knowledge  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  more  knowledge  of 
himself,  more  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  the  things  of  God, 
than  nine  in  ten  of  the  clergymen  I  have  conversed  with, 
either  at  the  universities  or  elsewhere." 

The  situation  in  which  Wesley  stood  led  him  to  make 
this  comparison,  and  not  to  make  it  fairly.  It  induced 
him  also  to  listen  to  those  who  argued  in  favor  of  a  sepa- 
ration from  the  Church,  and  to  sum  up  their  reasonings, 
with  a  bias  in  their  favor.  "  They  who  plead  for  it,"  said 
he,  "  have  weighed  the  point  long  and  deeply,  and  consid- 
ered it  with  earnest  and  continued  prayer.  They  admit, 
if  it  be  lawful  to  abide  therein,  then  it  is  not  lawful  to  sep- 
arate :  but  they  aver  it  is  not  lawful  to  abide  therein  ;  for, 
though  they  allow  the  Liturgy  to  be,  in  general,  one  of  the 
most  excellent  of  all  human  compositions,  they  yet  think  it 
both  absurd  and  sinful  to  declare  such  an  assent  and  con- 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


IGl 


sent  as  is  required,  to  any  merely  human  composition. 
Though  they  do  not  object  to  the  use  of  forms,  they  dare 
not  confine  themselves  to  them ;  and,  in  this  form,  there  are 
several  things  vs^hich  they  apprehend  to  be  contrary  to 
Scripture.  As  to  the  laws  of  the  Church,  if  they  include 
the  canons  and  decretals  (both  which  are  received  as  such 
in  our  courts),  they  think  the  latter  are  the  very  dregs  of 
popery,  and  that  many  of  the  former  (the  canons  of  1603) 
are  as  grossly  wicked  as  absurd  ;  that  the  spirit  which  they 
breathe  is,  throughout,  truly  popish  and  anti-Christian  ;  that 
nothing  can  be  more  diabolical  than  the  ipso  facto  excom- 
munication so  often  denounced  therein  ;  and  that  the  whole 
method  of  executing  these  canons,  the  process  used  in  our 
spiritual  courts,  is  too  bad  to  be  tolerated,  not  in  a  Chris- 
tian, but  in  a  Mohammedan  or  Pagan  nation.  With  re- 
gard to  the  ministers,  they  doubt  whether  there  are  not 
many  of  them  whom  God  hath  not  sent,  inasmuch  as  they 
neither  live  the  Gospel,  nor  teach  it ;  neither,  indeed,  can 
they,  since  they  do  not  know  it.  They  doubt  the  more, 
because  these  ministers  themselves  disclaim  that  inward 
call  to  the  ministry,  which  is  at  least  as  necessary  as  the 
outward ;  and  they  are  not  clear  whether  it  be  lawful  to 
attend  the  ministrations  of  those  whom  God  has  not  sent  to 
minister.  They  think,  also,  that  the  doctrines  actually 
taught,  by  a  great  majority  of  the  church  ministers,  are  not 
only  wrong,  but  fundamentally  so,  and  subversive  of  the 
whole  Gospel :  therefore,  they  doubt  whether  it  be  lawful 
to  bid  them  God  speed,  or  to  have  any  fellowship  with 
them.  I  will  freely  acknowledge,"  he  adds,  "that  I  can 
not  answer  these  arguments  to  my  own  satisfaction.  As 
yet,"  he  pursued,  **  we  have  not  taken  one  step  farther  than 
we  were  convinced  was  our  bounden  duty.  It  is  from  a 
full  conviction  of  this  that  we  have  preached  abroad,  prayed 
extempore,  formed  societies,  and  permitted  preachers  who 
were  not  episcopally  ordained.  And  were  we  pushed  on 
this  side,  were  there  no  alternative  allowed,  we  should 
judge  it  our  bounden  duty,  rather  wholly  to  separate  from 
the  Church,  than  to  give  up  any  one  of  these  points  ;  there- 
fore, if  we  can  not  stop  a  separation  without  stopping  lay 
preachers,  the  case  is  clear,  we  can  not  stop  it  at  all.  But, 
if  we  permit  them,  should  we  not  do  more  1 — should  we 
not  appoint  them,  rather  ]  since  the  bare  permission  puts 
the  matter  quite  out  of  our  hands,  and  deprives  us  of  all 
our  influence.    In  great  measure,  it  does  :  therefore,  to 


162 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


appoint  them  is  far  more  expedient,  if  it  be  lawful :  but  is 
it  lawful  for  presbyters,  circumstanced  as  we  are,  to  ap- 
point other  ministers  1  This  is  the  very  point  wherein  we 
desire  advice,  being  afraid  of  leaning  to  our  own  under- 
standing." 

An  inclination  to  episcopize  was  evidently  shown  in  this 
language  ;  but  Wesley  did  not  yet  venture  upon  the  act,  in 
deference,  perhaps,  to  his  brother's  determined  and  prin- 
cipled opposition.  Many  of  his  preachers,  however,  were 
discontented  with  the  rank  which  they  held  in  public  opin- 
ion, thinking  that  they  were  esteemed  inferior  to  the  dis- 
senting ministers,  because  they  did  not  assume  so  much : 
they  therefore  urged  him  to  take  upon  himself  the  episco- 
pal office,  and  ordain  them,  that  they  might  administer  the 
ordinances  ;  and,  as  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  this, 
they  charged  him  with  inconsistency,  for  tolerating  lay 
preaching,  and  not  lay  administering.  This  charge  he  re- 
pelled :  "My  principle,"  said  he,  "is  this:  I  submit  to 
every  ordinance  of  man,  wherever  I  do  not  consider  there 
is  an  absolute  necessity  for  acting  contrary  to  it.  Consist- 
ently with  this,  I  do  tolerate  lay  preaching,  because  I  con- 
ceive there  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  it,  inasmuch  as  were 
it  not,  thousands  of  souls  would  perish  everlastingly.  Yet 
I  do  not  tolerate  lay  administering ;  because  I  do  not  con- 
ceive there  is  any  such  necessity  for  it,  seeing  it  does  not 
appear  that  one  soul  will  perish  for  want  of  it.*  This 
was,  of  course,  called  persecution,  by  those  whom  his  de- 
termination disappointed  ;  and  they  accused  him  of  injus- 
tice in  denying  them  the  liberty  of  acting  according  to  their 
own  conscience.  They  thought  it  quite  right  that  they 
should  administer  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  believed  it  would 
do  much  good  :  he  thought  it  quite  wrong,  and  believed  it 
would  do  much  hurt.  "  I  have  no  right  over  your  con- 
sciences," he  said,  "  nor  you  over  mine  :  therefore,  both 
you  and  I  must  follow  our  own  conscience.  You  believe 
it  is  a  duty  to  administer  ;  do  so,  and  therein  follow  your 

♦  [Wesley  had  evidently,  by  this  time,  escaped  from  the  superstitious 
fancy,  that  the  formal  act  of  ordination  imparts  a  character  to  its  sub- 
ject •, — he  then  beheved  that  he  whom  God  had  called  to  preach,  was 
ipso  facto  made  a  minister  of  the  New  Testament, — a  degree  whose 
highest  office  is  "  not  to  baptize,  but  preeich  the  Gospel," — and  that 
while  duty  impelled  him  to  promote  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  in  a 
way  styled  irregular,  expediency  required  that  his  "helpers"  should 
forego  the  use  of  their  authority  to  administer  the  sacraments. — Am. 
Ed.] 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


163 


own  conscience.  I  verily  believe  it  is  a  sin,  which,  conse- 
quently, I  dare  not  tolerate;  and  herein  I  follow  mine." 
And  he  argued,  that  it  was  no  persecution  to  separate  from 
bis  society  those  who  practiced  what  he  believed  was  con- 
trary to  the  will,  and  destructive  of  the  word  of  God. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  his  preachers  withdrew 
from  him  on  this  account :  the  question  was  not  one  upon 
which,  at  that  time,  a  discontented  man  could  hope  to 
divide  the  society ;  and,  if  they  did  not  assent  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's arguments,  they  acquiesced  in  his  will.  Secessions, 
however,  and  expulsions,  from  other  causes,  not  unfre- 
quently  took  place  :  and  once  he  found  it  necessary  to 
institute  an  examination  of  his  preachers,  because  of  cer- 
tain scandals  which  had  arisen.  The  person  with  whom 
the  offense  began  was  one  James  Wheatley.  At  first  he 
made  himself  remarkable,  by  introducing  a  luscious  man- 
ner of  preaching,  which,  as  it  was  new  among  the  Method- 
ists, and  at  once  stimulant  and  flattering,  soon  became 
popular,  and  obtained  imitators.  They  who  adopted  it 
assumed  to  themselves  the  appellation  of  Gospel  preach- 
ers, and  called  their  brethren,  in  contempt,  legalists,  legal 
wretches,  and  doctors  in  divinity.  Wesley  presently  per- 
ceived the  mischief  that  was  done  by  these  men,  whose 
secret  was,  to  speak  much  of  the  promises,  and  little  of  the 
commands  :  "  They  corrupt  their  hearers,"  said  he ;  "  they 
feed  them  with  sweetmeats,  till  the  genuine  wine  of  the 
kingdom  seems  quite  insipid  to  them.  They  give  them 
cordial  upon  cordial,  which  makes  them  all  life  and  spirits 
for  the  present ;  but,  meantime,  their  appetite  is  destroyed, 
so  that  they  can  neither  retain  nor  digest  the  pure  milk  of 
the  word.  As  soon  as  that  flow  of  spirits  goes  off",  they  are 
without  life,  without  power,  without  any  strength  or  vigor 
of  soul ;  and  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  recover  them,  be- 
cause they  still  cry  out,  Cordials  !  Cordials  !  of  which  they 
have  had  too  much  already,  and  have  no  taste  for  the  food 
which  is  convenient  for  them.  Nay,  they  have  an  utter 
aversion  to  it,  and  this  confirmed  by  principle,  having  been 
taught  to  call  it  husks,  if  not  poison.  How  much  more  to 
those  bitters,  which  are  previously  needful  to  restore  their 
decayed  appetite  !" 

Wheatley  was  a  quack  in  physic,  as  well  as  in  divinity, 
and  he  was  soon  detected  in  fouler  practices.  Complaint 
being  at  length  made  of  his  infamous  licentiousness,  the 
two  brothers  inquired  into  it,  and  obtained  complete  proof 


164 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


of  his  guilt.  Upon  this  they  delivered  into  his  hands  a 
written  sentence  of  suspension  in  these  terms  :  *'  Because 
you  have  wrought  folly  in  Israel,  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God,  betrayed  your  own  soul  into  temptation  and  sin, 
and  the  souls  of  many  others,  whom  you  ought,  even  at  the 
peril  of  your  own  life,  to  have  guarded  against  all  sin ;  be- 
cause you  have  given  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  God, 
wherever  they  shall  know  these  things,  to  blaspheme  the 
ways  and  truth  of  God ;  we  can  in  no  wise  receive  you  as 
a  fellow-laborer,  till  we  see  clear  proofs  of  your  real  and 
deep  repentance.  The  least  and  lowest  proof  of  such  re- 
pentance which  we  can  receive  is  this, — that,  till  our  next 
Conference,  you  abstain  both  from  preaching  and  from  prac- 
ticing physic.  If  you  do  not,  we  are  clear :  we  can  not 
answer  for  the  consequences."  They  were  not  aware  at 
the  time  of  the  extent  of  this  hypocrite's  criminality ;  but 
enough  was  soon  discovered  to  make  it  necessary  for  them 
to  disclaim  him  by  public  advertisements.  The  matter  be- 
came so  notorious  at  Norwich,  that  the  affidavits  of  the 
women  whom  he  had  endeavored  to  corrupt,  were  printed 
and  hawked  about  the  streets.  The  people  were  ready  to 
tear  him  to  pieces,  as  he  deserved  ;  and  the  cry  against  the 
Methodists  was  such,  in  consequence,  that  Charles  Wesley 
said,  Satan  or  his  apostles  could  not  have  done  more  to  shut 
the  door  against  the  Gospel  in  that  place  forever. 

This  was  a  case  of  individual  villainy,  and  produced  no 
other  injury  to  Methodism  than  an  immediate  scandal, 
which  was  soon  blown  over.  But  it  is  the  nature  of  men- 
tal, as  well  as  of  corporeal  diseases,  to  propagate  them- 
selves, and  schism  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  of  all  errors. 
One  separation  had  already  taken  place  between  the  Meth- 
odists and  the  Moravians ;  the  Calvinistic  question  had 
made  a  second.  A  minor  schism  was  now  made,  by  a  cer- 
tain James  Kelly,  who,  having  commenced  his  career  under 
the  patronage  of  Whitefield,  ended  in  forming  a  heresy  of 
his  own,  which  had  the  merit,  at  least,  of  being  a  humaner 
scheme  than  that  of  his  master,  however  untenable  in  other 
respects.  Shocked  at  the  intolerable  notion  of  reprobation, 
and  yet  desirous  of  holding  the  tenet  of  election,  he  fancied 
that  sin  was  to  be  considered  as  a  disease,  for  which  the 
death  of  our  Redeemer  was  the  remedy  ;  and  that,  as  evil 
had  been  introduced  into  human  nature  by  the  first  Adam, 
who  was  of  the  earth,  earthly,  so  must  it  be  expelled  by 
the  second,  who  is  from  heaven,  and  therefore  heavenly. 


WESLEY    tN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


1G5 


Pursuing  this  motiorj,  he  taught  that  Christ,  as  a  Mediator, 
was  united  to  mankind,  and,  by  his  obedience  and  suffer- 
ings, had  as  fully  restored  the  whole  human  race  to  the 
divine  favor,  as  if  all  had  obeyed  or  suffered  in  their  own 
persons.  So  he  preached  a  finished  salvation,  which  in- 
cluded the  final  restitution  of  all  fallen  intelligences.  Sin 
being  only  a  disease,*  could  not  deserve  punishment :  it 
was  in  itself,  and  in  its  consequences,  a  sufficient  evil ;  for, 
while  it  existed,  darkness  and  unbelief  accompanied  it, 
and  occasioned  a  privation  of  that  happiness  which  the 
Almighty  designed  for  all  his  creatures  ;  but,  in  the  end, 
all  would  be  delivered,  and  the  elect  were  only  chosen  to 
be  the  first  fruits — the  pledges  and  earnest  of  the  general 
harvest.  Relly  had  for  his  coadjutor  one  William  Cud- 
worth,  of  whom  Wesley  observed,  after  an  interview  with 
him,  "  that  his  opinions  were  all  his  own,  quite  new,  and 
his  phrases  as  new  as  his  opinions,  yea,  and  phrases  too, 
he  affirmed  to  be  necessary  to  salvation ;  maintaining,  that 
all  who  did  not  receive  them  worshiped  another  God  ;  and 
that  he  was  as  incapable  as  a  brute  beast  of  being  convinced, 
even  in  the  smallest  point."  On  another  occasion,  he  re- 
marks, that  Cudworth,  Relly,  and  their  associates  abhorred 
him  as  much  as  they  did  the  Pope,  and  ten  times  more  than 
they  did  the  devil.  The  devil,  indeed,  was  no  object  of 
abhorrence  with  them :  like  Uncle  Toby,  they  were  sorry 
for  him  ;  and,  like  Origen,  they  expected  his  reformation. 
They  formed  a  sect,  which  continues  to  exist  in  America, 
as  well  as  in  England,  by  the  name  of  the  Relly  an  Univer- 
salists ;  and  it  is  said  that  Washington's  chaplain  was  a 
preacher  of  this  denomination. 

The  tendency  of  these  opinions  was  to  an  easy  and  quiet 
latitudinarianism.  Antinomianism,  with  which  they  were 
connected,  was  far  more  mischievous,  when  combined  with 
enthusiasm  ;  and  this  was  the  evil  to  which  Methodism 
always  perilously  inclined.  There  is  in  the  Antinomian 
scheme,  and  indeed  in  all  predestinarian  schetties,  an 
audacity  which  is  congenial  to  certain  minds.  They  feel 
a  pride  in  daring  to  profess  doctrines  which  are  so  revolt- 
ing to  the  common  sense  and  feelings  of  mankind.  Minds 
of  a  similar  temper,  but  in  a  far  worse  state,  maintain  the 

♦  James  Relly  should  have  read  an  old  treatise  upon  the  Sinful- 
ness of  Sin,  which,  notwithstanding  its  odd  title,  is  the  work  of  a  sound 
and  powerful  intellect.  If  I  remember  rightly,  it  is  by  Bishop  Rey- 
nolds. 


166 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


notion  of  the  necessity  of  human  actions,*  but  reject  a  first 
cause.  It  is  from  a  like  effrontery  of  spirit  that  this  last 
and  worst  corruption  proceeds  ;  and  as  the  causes  are 
alike,  so  also  the  practical  consequences  of  Antinomianism 
and  Atheism  would  be  the  same,  if  men  were  always  as 
bad  as  their  opinions  ;  for  the  professors  of  both  have 
emancipated  themselves  from  any  other  restraint  than 
what  may  be  imposed  by  the  fear  of  human  laws. 

Wesley  was  mistaken  in  supposing  the  doctrine,  that 
there  is  no  sin  in  believers,  was  never  heard  of  till  the 
time  of  Count  Zinzendorf  It  is  as  old  in  England  as  the 
Reformation, t  and  might  undoubtedly  be  traced  in  many 
an  early  heresy.  The  Moravians  had  the  rare  merit  of 
sometimes  acknowledging  their  errors,  and  correcting 
them  :  on  this  point,  they  modified  their  language  till  it 
became  reasonable  ;  but  the  Methodists  had  caught  the 
error,  and  did  not  so  easily  rid  themselves  of  it.  God 
thrust  us  out,"  says  Wesley,  speaking  of  himself  and  his 
brother,  "  utterly  against  our  will,  to  raise  a  holy  people. 
When  Satan  could  no  otherwise  prevent  this,  he  threw 
Calvinism  in  our  way,  and  then  Antinomianism,  which 
struck  at  the  root  both  of  inward  and  outward  holiness. "| 
He  acknowledged  that  they  had,  unawares,  leaned  too 
much  toward  both  ;  and  that  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  lies 
within  a  hair's  breadth  of  them  :  "  So,"  said  he,  "  that  it  is 

♦  Archbishop  Sancroft  says  well  of  the  fatalist:  "He  uses  necessity 
as  the  old  philosophers  did  an  occult  qualit}*.  though  to  a  different  pur- 
pose :  that  was  their  refuge  for  ignorance ;  this  is  his  sanctuary  for  sin." 

+  Burnet  speaks  of  certain  "  corrupt  Gospelers,  who  thought,  if  they 
magnified  Christ  much,  and  depended  on  his  merits  and  intercession, 
they  could  not  perish,  which  way  soever  they  led  their  lives.  And 
special  care  was  taken  in  the  homilies  to  rectify  this  error." 

X  This  pernicious  doctrine  was  well  explained  in  the  first  Conference : 
"  Q.  What  is  Antinomianism  ? 

A.  The  doctrine  which  makes  void  the  law  through  faith. 

Q.  What  are  the  main  pillars  thereof? 

A.  1.  That  Christ  abolished  the  moral  law. 

2.  That  therefore  Christians  are  not  obliged  to  observe  it. 

3.  That  one  branch  of  Christian  liberty,  is  liberty  from  obeying 

the  commandments  of  God. 

4.  That  it  is  bondage  to  do  a  thing,  because  it  is  commanded ; 

or  forbear  it,  because  it  is  forbidden. 

5.  That  a  believer  is  not  obliged  to  use  the  ordinances  of  God,  or 

to  do  good  works. 

6.  That  a  preacher  ought  not  to  exhort  to  good  works :  not  un- 

believers, because  it  is  hurtful ;  not  believers,  because  it  is 
useless." 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE 


167 


altogether  foolish  and  sinful,  because  we  do  not  quite  agree 
either  with  one  or  the  other,  to  run  from  them  as  far  as 
ever  we  can."  The  question,  "  Wherein  may  we  come  to 
the  very  edge  of  Calvinism  ?"  was  proposed  in  the  second 
Conference  ;  and  the  answer  was,  "  In  ascribing  all  good 
to  the  free  grace  of  God  :  in  denying  all  natural  free-will, 
and  all  power  antecedent  to  grace;  and  in  excluding  all 
merit  from  man,  even  for  what  he  has  or  does  by  the  grace 
of  God."*  This  was  endeavoring  to  split  the  hair.  "Where- 
in may  we  come  to  the  edge  of  Antinomianism  V  was 
asked  likewise  ;  and  the  answer  was  less  objectionable  : 
"  In  exalting  the  merits  and  love  of  Christ ;  in  rejoicing 
evermore." 

In  endeavoring  to  approach  the  edge  of  this  penlous 
notion,  Wesley  went  sometimes  too  near.  But  his  general 
opinion  could  not  be  mistaken  ;  and  when  any  of  his  fol- 
lowers fell  into  the  error,  he  contended  against  it  zealous- 
ly. It  was  a  greater  hinderance,  he  said,  to  the  word  of 
God,  than  any,  or  all  others  put  together  :  and  he  some- 
times complains,  that  most  of  the  seed  which  had  been 
sown  during  so  many  years,  had  been  rooted  up  and 
destroyed  by  *'  the  wild  boars,  the  fierce,  unclean,  brutish, 
blasphemous  Antinomians."t    From  this  reproach,  indeed, 

*  If  we  substitute  "actual,"  for  "natural,"  in  the  preceding  sen- 
tence, the  error  is  con6ned  to  the  words,  "  and  in  excluding  all  merit 
from  man,  even  for  what  he  has  or  does  by  the  grace  of  God,"  instead 
of  which,  we  might  safely  put  the  following :  "  and  by  including  all 
merit  of  man,  for  what  he  has  or  does  by  the  grace  of  God,  in  the 
merits  of  the  Mediator,  perfect  God,  and  perfect  man  ;"  by  which,  and 
by  the  imputation  of  which,  all  human  merit  is,  and  is  possible.  But 
I  dare  not  condemn  those  of  the  early  Reformers  who  looked  with 
suspicion  on  the  application  of  the  word  to  individuals,  even  so  ex- 
plained, and  thus  cautiously  guarded.  For  if  that  popular  and  com- 
mon-sense view  of  men  as  individuals  other  than  the  Son  of  Man  be 
meant, — which  view  alone  the  generality  of  Christians  can  understand, 
— or  if  any  view  but  that  of  the  transcendent  union,  in  which  we  have 
our  being,  personality,  and  freedom  in  the  being,  person,  and  will  of 
God, — then  it  is  clear  that  the  term  merit  is  used  in  two  diverse  senses, 
as  applied  to  Christ,  and  applied  to  man. — S.  T.  C. 

t  The  annexed  extract  from  Wesley's  Journal  will  show  that  this 
language  is  not  too  strong  :  "  I  came  to  Wensbury.  The  Antinomian 
teachers  had  labored  hard  to  destroy  this  poor  people.  I  talked  an 
hour  with  the  chief  of  them,  Stephen  Timmins.  I  was  in  doubt 
whether  pride  had  not  made  him  mad.  An  uncommon  wildness  and 
fierceness  in  his  air,  his  words,  and  the  whole  manner  of  his  behavior, 
almost  induced  me  to  think  Grod  had,  for  a  season,  given  him  up  into 
the  hands  of  Satan.  In  the  evening  I  preached  at  Birmingham. 
Here  another  of  their  pillars,  J  W>     ,  came  to  me,  and  looking 


168 


WESLEY   IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


which  attaches  to  many  of  his  Calvinistic  opponents,  he 
was  entirely  clear,  and  the  great  body  of  his  society  has 
continued  so.  But  his  disposition  to  believe  in  miraculous 
manifestations  of  divine  favors,  led  him  sometimes  to  en- 
courage an  enthusiasm  which  impeached  his  own  judg- 
ment, and  brought  a  scandal  upon  Methodism. 

Among  the  converts  to  Methodism,  at  this  time,  were 
Mr.  Berridge,  vicar  of  Everton,  in  Bedfordshire,  and  Mr. 
Hickes,  vicar  of  Wrestlingwoith,  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. These  persons,  by  their  preaching,  produced  the 
same  contagious  convulsions  in  their  hearers,  as  had  for- 
merly prevailed  at  Bristol ;  and  though  time  had  sobered 
Mr.  Wesley's  feelings,  and  matured  his  judgment,  he  was 
so  far  deceived,  that  he  recorded  the  things  which  occurred, 
not  as  psychological,  but  as  religious  cases.  They  were 
of  the  most  frightful  and  extraordinary  kind.  An  eye- 
witness described  the  church  at  Everton  as  crowded  with 
persons  from  all  the  country  round  ;  "  the  windows,"  he 
says,  "  being  filled,  within  and  without,  and  even  the  out- 
side of  the  pulpit,  to  the  very  top,  so  that  Mr.  Berridge 
seemed  almost  stifled  with  their  breath  ;  yet,"  the  relator 
continues,  "  feeble  and  sickly  as  he  is,  he  was  continually 
strengthened,  and  his  voice,  for  the  most  part,  distinguish- 
able in  the  midst  of  all  the  outcries.  When  the  power  of 
religion  began  to  be  spoke  of,  the  presence  of  God  really 
filled  the  place  ;  and  while  poor  sinners  felt  the  sentence 
of  death  in  their  souls,  what  sounds  of  distress  did  I  hear ! 
The  greatest  number  of  them  who  cried,  or  fell,  were  men  ; 
but  some  women,  and  several  children,  felt  the  power  of 

over  his  shoulder,  said,  '  Don't  think  I  want  to  be  in  your  society ;  but 
it"  you  are  free  to  speak  to  me,  you  may.'  I  will  set  down  the  conver- 
sation, dreadful  as  it  was,  in  the  very  manner  wherein  it  passed,  that 
every  serious  person  may  see  the  true  picture  of  Antinomianisra  full 
grown ;  and  may  know  what  these  men  mean  by  their  favorite  phrase 
of  being  'perfect  in  Christ,  not  in  themselves.  '  Do  you  believe  you 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  law  of  God?'  *I  have  not.  I  am  not 
under  the  law.  I  live  by  faith.' — '  Have  you,  as  living  by  faith,  a  right 
to  ever}'  thing  in  the  world?'  'I  have.  All  is  mine,  since  Christ  is 
mine.' — '  May  you  then  take  any  thing  you  will,  anywhere  ?  suppose, 
out  of  a  shop,  without  the  consent  or  knowledge  of  the  owner?'  *l 
may,  if  I  want  it ;  for  it  is  mine ;  only  I  will  not  give  offense.' — '  Have 
you  also  a  right  to  all  the  women  in  the  world  V  '  Yes,  if  they  con- 
sent.'— 'And  is  that  not  a  sin?'  'Yes,  to  him  that  thinks  it  a  sin ; 
but  not  to  those  whose  hearts  are  fi-ee.'  The  same  thing  that  ^\Tetch 
Roger  Ball  affirmed  in  Dublin  Surely  these  are  the  first-bom  children 
of  Satan !" 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE.  169 


the  same  Almighty  Spirit,  and  seemed  just  sinking  into 
hell.  This  occasioned  a  mixture  of  various  sounds  ;  some 
shrieking,  some  roaring  aloud.  The  most  general  was  a 
loud  breathing,  like  that  of  people  half-strangled,  and 
gasping  for  life ;  and,  indeed,  almost  all  the  cries  were 
like  those  of  human  creatures  dying  in  bitter  anguish. 
Great  numbers  wept  without  any  noise ;  others  fell  down 
as  dead  ;  some  sinking  in  silence,  some  with  extreme  noise 
and  violent  agitation.  I  stood  on  the  pew  seat,  as  did  a 
young  man  in  the  opposite  pew,  an  able-bodied,  fresh, 
healthy  countryman ;  but,  in  a  moment,  while  he  seemed 
to  think  of  nothing  less,  down  he  dropped,  with  a  violence 
inconceivable.  The  adjoining  pews  seemed  shook  with 
his  fall  :  I  heard  afterward  the  stamping  of  his  feet,  ready 
to  break  the  boards,  as  he  lay  in  strong  convulsions  at  the 

bottom  of  the  pew.    When  he  fell,  Mr.  B  11  and  I  felt 

our  souls  thrilled  with  a  momentary  dread ;  as,  when  one 
man  is  killed  by  a  cannon-ball,  another  often  feels  the 
wind  of  it.  Among  the  children  who  felt  the  arrows  of 
the  Almighty,  I  saw  a  sturdy  boy,  about  eight  years  old, 
who  roared  above  his  fellows,  and  seemed,  in  his  agony,  to 
atruggle  with  the  strength  of  a  grown  man.  ^is  face  was 
red  as  scarlet ;  and  almost  all  on  whom  God  laid  his  hand, 
turned  either  very  red,  or  almost  black." 

The  congregation  adjourned  to  Mr.  Berridgeu  house, 
whither  those  who  were  still  in  the  fit  were  carried  :  the 
maddened  people  were  eager  for  more  stimulants,  and  the 
insane  vicar  was  as  willing  to  administer  more,  as  they 
were  to  receive  it.  "  I  stayed  in  the  next  room,"  says  the 
relator,  **  and  saw  a  girl,  whom  I  had  observed  peculiarly 
distressed  in  the  church,  lying  on  the  floor  as  one  dead, 
but  without  any  ghastliness  in  her  face.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  were  informed  of  a  woman  filled  with  peace  and  joy, 
who  was  crying  out  just  before.  She  had  come  thirteen 
miles,  and  is  the  same  person  who  dreamed  Mr.  Berridge 
would  come  to  his  village  on  that  very  day  whereon  he  did 
come,  though  without  either  knowing  the  place  or  the  way 
to  it.  She  was  convinced  at  that  time.  Just  as  we  heard 
of  her  deliverance,  the  girl  on  the  floor  began  to  stir.  She 
was  then  set  in  a  chair,  and,  after  sighing  awhile,  sudden- 
ly rose  up,  rejoicing  in  God.  Her  face  was  covered  with 
the  most  beautiful  smile  I  ever  saw.  She  frequently  fell 
on  her  knees,  but  was  generally  running  to  and  fro,  speak- 
ing these  and  the  like  words  :  "  Oh,  what  can  Jesus  do  for  lost 

VOL.  II. — H 


170 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


sinners  !  He  has  forgiven  all  my  sins  !  I  am  in  Heaven  ! 
I  am  in  Heaven  !  Oh,  how  he  loves  me,  and  how  I  love 
him  !"  Meantime  I  saw  a  thin,  pale  girl  weeping  with 
sorrow  for  herself,  and  joy  for  her  companion.  Quickly 
the  smiles  of  Heaven  came  likewise  on  her,  and  her  prais- 
es joined  with  those  of  the  other.    I  also  then  laughed  with 

extreme  joy  ;  so  did  Mr.  B  11,  who  said  it  was  more 

than  he  could  well  bear;  so  did  all  who  knew  the  Lord, 
and  some  of  those  who  were  waiting  for  salvation,  till  the 
cries  of  them  who  were  struck  with  the  arrows  of  convic- 
tion were  almost  lost  in  the  sounds  of  joy.  Mr.  Berridge 
about  this  time  retired  :  we  continued  praising  God  with 
all  our  might,  and  his  work  went  on.  I  had  for  some  time 
observed  a  young  woman  all  in  tears,  but  now  her  coun- 
tenance changed  ;  the  unspeakable  joy  appeared  in  her 
face,  which,  quick  as  lightning,  was  filled  with  smiles,  and 
became  a  crimson  color.  About  the  same  time  John  Keel- 
ing, of  Potton,  fell  into  an  agony  ;  but  he  grew  calm  in 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  though  without  a  clear  sense 
of  pardon.  Immediately  after,  a  stranger,  well  dressed, 
who  stood  facing  me,  fell  backward  to  the  wall,  then  for- 
ward on  his  knees,  wringing  his  hands,  and  roaring  like  a 
bull.  His  face  at  first  turned  quite  red,  then  almost  black. 
He  rose  and  ran  against  the  wall,  till  Mr.  Keeling  and 
another  held  him.  He  screamed  out,  '  Oh  what  shall  I 
do!  what  shall  I  do!  Oh,  for  one  drop  of  the  blood  of 
Christ !'  As  he  spoke,  God  set  his  soul  at  liberty  :  he 
knew  his  sins  were  blotted  out ;  and  the  rapture  he  was  in 
seemed  too  great  for  human  nature  to  bear.  He  had  come 
forty  miles  to  hear  Mr.  Berridge. 

"  I  observed,  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Coe  (that  was  his 
name)  began  to  rejoice,  a  girl  eleven  or  twelve  years  old, 
exceedingly  poorly  dressed,  who  appeared  to  be  as  deeply 
wounded,  and  as  desirous  of  salvation,  as  any.  But  I  lost 
sight  of  her,  till  I  heard  the  joyful  sound  of  another  born 
in  Sion,  and  found,  upon  inquiry,  it  was  her— the  poor, 
disconsolate,  Gipsy-looking  child.  And  now  did  I  see  such 
a  sight  as  I  do  not  expect  again  on  this  side  eternity.  The 
faces  of  the  three  justified  children,  and,  I  think,  of  all  the 
believers  present,  did  really  shine ;  and  such  a  beauty, 
such  a  look  of  extreme  happiness,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
of  divine  love  and  simplicity,  did  I  never  see  in  human 
faces  till  now.  The  newly  justified  eagerly  embraced  one 
another,  weeping  on  each  other's  necks  for  joy,  and  be- 


WESLEY   IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


171 


sought  both  men  and  women  to  help  them  in  praising 
God."  The  same  fits  were  produced  by  Mr.  Hickes's 
preaching  at  Wrestlingwoith,  whither  this  relator  proceed- 
ed :  and  there  also  the  poor  creatures  who  were  under  the 
paroxysm  were  earned  into  the  parsonage,  where  some 
lay  as  if  they  were  dead,  and  others  lay  struggling.  In 
both  churches  several  pews  and  benches  were  broken  by 
the  violent  struggling  of  the  sufferers  ;  "  yet,"  says  the  nar- 
rator, "  it  is  common  for  people  to  remain  unaffected  there, 
and  afterward  drop  down  in  their  way  home.  Some  have 
been  found  lying  as  dead  in  the  road  ;  others  in  Mr.  Ber- 
ridge's  garden,  not  being  able  to  walk  from  the  church  to 
his  house,  though  it  is  not  two  hundred  yards."  The  per- 
son who  thus  minutely  described  the  progress  of  this  pow- 
erful contagion,  observes,  that  few  old  people  experienced 
any  thing  of  what  he  called  the  work  of  God,  and  scarce 
any  of  the  rich  ;  and,  with  that  uncharitable  spirit,  which  is 
one  of  the  surest  and  worst  effects  of  such  superstition,  he 
remarks,  that  three  farmers,  in  three  several  villages,  who 
set  themselves  to  oppose  it,  all  died  within  a  month. 

Such  success  made  Berridge  glorious  in  his  own  eyes, 
as  well  as  in  those  of  all  the  fanatics  round  about.  He 
traveled  about  the  country,  making  Everton  still  the  cen- 
ter of  his  excursions  ;  and  he  confesses  that,  on  one  occa- 
sion, when  he  mounted  a  table  upon  a  common  near  Cam- 
bridge, and  saw  nearly  ten  thousand  people  assembled, 
and  many  gownsmen  among  them,  he  paused  after  he  had 
given  out  his  text,  thinking  of  "  something  pretty  to  set  off 
with;  but,"  says  he,  "the  Lord  so  confounded  me  (as  in- 
deed it  was  meet,  for  I  was  seeking  not  his  glory,  but  my 
own),  that  I  was  in  a  perfect  labyrinth,  and  found  that,  if  I 
did  not  begin  immediately,  I  must  go  down  without  speak- 
ing;  so  I  broke  out  with  the  first  word  that  occurred,  not 
knowing  whether  I  should  be  able  to  add  any  more.  Then 
the  Lord  opened  my  mouth,  enabling  me  to  speak  near  an 
hour,  without  any  kind  of  perplexity,  and  so  loud  that 
every  one  might  hear."  For  a  season  this  man  produced 
a  more  violent  influenza  of  fanaticism  than  had  ever  fol- 
lowed upon  either  Whitefield's  or  Wesley's  preaching. 
The  people  flocked  to  hear  him  in  such  numbers,  that  his 
church  could  not  contain  them,  and  they  adjounied  into  a 
field.  "  Some  of  them,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "  who  were 
here  pricked  to  the  heart,  were  affected  in  an  astonishing 
manner.     The  first  man  I  saw  wounded  would  have 


172 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


dropped,  but  others,  catching  him  in  their  arms,  did  in- 
deed prop  him  up  ;  but  were  so  far  from  keeping  him  still, 
that  he  caused  all  of  them  to  totter  and  tremble.  His  own 
shaking  exceeded  that  of  a  cloth  in  the  wind.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  Lord  came  upon  him  like  a  giant,  taking  him  by 
the  neck,  and  shaking  all  his  bones  in  pieces.  One  woman 
tore  up  the  ground  with  her  hands,  filling  them  with  dust, 
and  with  the  hard-trodden  grass,  on  which  I  saw  her  lie 
with  her  hands  clenched,  as  one  dead,  when  the  multitude 
dispersed ;  another  roared  and  screamed  in  a  more  dread- 
ful agony  than  ever  I  heard  before.  I  omit  the  rejoicing 
of  believers,  because  of  their  number,  and  the  frequency 
thereof ;  though  the  manner  was  strange,  some  of  them 
being  quite  overpowered  with  divine  love,  and  only  show- 
ing enough  of  natural  life  to  let  us  know  they  were  over- 
whelmed with  joy  and  life  eternal.  Some  continued  long 
as  if  they  were  dead,  but  with  a  calm  sweetness  in  their 
looks.  I  saw  one  who  lay  two  or  three  hours  in  the  open 
air,  and  being  then  carried  into  the  house,  continued  in- 
sensible another  hour,  as  if  actually  dead.  The  first  sign 
of  life  she  showed  was  a  rapture  of  praise,  intermixed  with 
a  small  joyous  laughter."  It  may  excite  astonishment  in 
other  countries,  and  reasonable  regret  in  this,  that  there 
should  be  no  authority  capable  of  restraining  extravagances 
and  indecencies  like  these. 

Berridge  had  been  curate  of  Stapleford,  near  Cambridge, 
several  years  ;  and  now,  after  what  he  called  his  conversion, 
his  heart  was  set  upon  preaching  a  "  Gospel-sermon"  there, 
which,  he  said,  he  had  never  done  before.  Some  fifteen 
hundred  persons  assembled  in  a  field  to  hear  him.  The 
contagion  soon  began  to  show  itself  among  those  who  were 
predisposed  for  it :  others,  of  a  different  temper,  mocked 
and  mimicked  these  poor  creatures  in  their  convulsions ; 
and  some  persons,  who  were  in  a  better  state  of  mind  than 
either,  indignant  at  the  extravagance  and  indecency  of  the 
scene,  called  aloud  to  have  those  wretches  horsewhipped 
out  of  the  field.  *'  Well  (says  the  fanatical  writer)  may 
Satan  be  enraged  at  the  cries  of  the  people,  and  the  pray- 
ers they  make  in  the  bitterness  of  their  soul,  seeing  we 
know  these  are  the  chief  times  at  which  Satan  is  cast  out." 
— "  I  heard  a  dreadful  noise,  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
congregation  (says  this  writer),  and  turning  thither,  saw 
one  Thomas  Skinner  coming  forward,  the  most  horrible 
human  figure  I  ever  saw.    His  large  wig  and  hair  were 


WESLEY  IN   MIDDLE  AGE> 


173 


coal-black  ;  his  face  distorted  beyond  all  description.  He 
roared  incessantly,  throwing  and  clapping  his  hands  to- 
gether with  his  whole  force.  Several  were  tenified,  and 
hastened  out  of  his  way.  I  was  glad  to  hear  him,  after  a 
while,  pray  aloud.  Not  a  few  of  the  triflers  grew  serious, 
while  his  kindred  and  acquaintance  were  very  unwilling  to 
believe  even  their  own  eyes  and  ears.  They  would  fain 
have  got  him  away ;  but  he  fell  to  the  earth,  crying,  '  My 
burden  !  my  burden  !  I  can  not  bear  it.'  Some  of  his 
brother  scoffers  were  calling  for  horsewhips,  till  they  saw 
him  extended  on  his  back  at  full  length :  they  then  said  he 
was  dead ;  and  indeed  the  only  sign  of  life  was  the  work- 
ing of  his  breast,  and  the  distortions  of  his  face,  while  the 
veins  of  his  neck  were  swelled  as  if  ready  to  burst.  He 
was,  just  before,  the  chief  captain  of  Satan's  forces  :  none 
was  by  nature  more  fitted  for  mockery ;  none  could  swear 
more  heroically  to  whip  out  of  the  close  all  who  were 
affected  by  the  preaching."  Berridge  bade  the  people  take 
warning  by  him,  while  he  lay  roaring  and  tormented  on 
the  ground.  **  His  agonies  lasted  some  hours ;  then  his 
body  and  soul  were  eased." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  of  the  many  persons  who  hare 
gone  through  this  disease,  no  one  should  have  recorded  his 
case  who  was  capable  of  describing  his  sensations  accu- 
rately, if  not  of  analyzing  them.  Berridge  and  Hickes  are 
said  to  have  "  awakened"  about  four  thousand  souls  in  the 
course  of  twelve  months.  Imposture  in  all  degrees,  from 
the  first  natural  exaggeration  to  downright  fraud,  kept 
pace  with  enthusiasm.  A  child,  seven  years  old,  saw 
visions,  and  "  astonished  the  neighbors  with  her  innocent 
and  awful  manner  of  relating  them."  A  young  man  whose 
mother  affirmed  that  he  had  had  fits,  once  a-day,  at  least, 
for  the  last  two  years,  began  to  pray  in  those  fits ;  protest- 
ing afterward,  that  he  knew  not  a  word  of  what  he  had 
spoken,  but  was  as  ignorant  of  the  matter  as  if  he  had  been 
dead  all  the  while.  This  impostor,  when  he  was  about  to 
exhibit,  stiffened  himself  like  a  statue ;  *'  his  very  neck 
seemed  made  of  iron."  After  he  had  finished,  his  body 
grew  flexible  by  degrees,  but  seemed  to  be  convulsed 
from  head  to  foot ;  and  when  he  thought  proper  to  recover, 
he  said,  "he  was  quite  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  who 
gave  him  such  strength  in  the  inner  man,  that  he  did  not 
find  it  grievous,  neither  could  ask  to  be  delivered  from  it." 
"  I  discoursed,"  says  the  credulous  relator  of  these  things, 


174 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


"  with  Anne  Thorn,  who  told  me  of  much  heaviness  fol- 
lowing the  visions  with  which  she  had  been  favored ;  but 
said  she  was,  at  intervals,  visited  still  with  so  much  over- 
powering love  and  joy,  especially  at  the  Lord's  Supper, 
that  she  often  lay  in  a  trance  for  many  hours.  She  is 
twenty-one  years  old.  We  were  soon  after  called  into  the 
garden,  where  Patty  Jenkins,  one  of  the  same  age,  was  so 
overwhelmed  with  the  love  of  God,  that  she  sunk  down, 
and  appeared  as  one  in  a  pleasant  sleep,  only  with  her 
eyes  open.  Yet  she  had  often  just  strength  to  utter,  with 
a  low  voice,  ejaculations  of  joy  and  praise ;  but  no  words 
coming  up  to  what  she  felt,  she  frequently  laughed  while 
she  saw  his  glory.  This  is  quite  unintelligible  to  many, 
for  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not  with  our  joy.  So  it  was 
to  Mr.  M.,  who  doubted  whether  God  or  the  devil  had 
filled  her  with  love  and  praise.  Oh,  the  depth  of  hu- 
man wisdom  !  Mr.  R.,  in  the  mean  time,  was  filled  with 
a  solemn  awe.  I  no  sooner  sat  down  by  her,  than 
the  Spirit  of  God  poured  the  same  blessedness  into  my 
soul." 

Whether  this  were  folly  or  fraud,  the  consequences  that 
were  likely  to  result  did  not  escape  the  apprehension  of 
persons  who,  though  themselves  affected  strongly  by  the 
disease,  still  retained  some  command  of  reason.  They 
began  to  doubt  whether  such  trances  were  not  the  work  of 
Satan;  with  the  majority, however,  they  passed  for  effects 
of  grace.  Wesley,  who  believed  and  recorded  them  as 
such,  inquired  of  the  patients,  when  he  came  to  Everton, 
concerning  their  state  of  feeling  in  these  trances.  The 
persons,  who  appear  to  have  been  all  young  women  and 
girls,  agreed  "  that  when  they  went  away,  as  they  termed 
it,  it  was  always  at  the  time  they  were  fullest  of  the  love 
of  God  ;  that  it  came  upon  them  in  a  moment,  without  any 
previous  notice,  and  took  away  all  their  senses  and  strength ; 
that  there  were  some  exceptions,  but,  generally,  from  that 
moment,  they  were  in  another  world,  knowing  nothing  of 
what  was  done  or  said  by  all  that  were  round  about  them."* 

*  I  regret  that  Southey  is  acquainted  only  with  the  magnetic  cases 
of  Mesmer  and  his  immediate  followers,  and  not  with  the  incompara- 
bly more  interesting  ones  of  Gmelin,  Weinholt,  Eschemmeyer,  Wohl- 
fast,  &c. — men  whose  acknowledged  merits  as  naturalists  and  physi- 
cians, with  their  rank  and  unimpeached  integrity,  raise  their  testimony 
above  suspicion,  in  point  of  reracity,  at  least,  and  of  any  ordinary  de- 
lusion. The  case  Wesley  saw  is,  in  all  its  features,  identical  with  that 
of  the  Khamerin,  and  with  a  dozen  others  in  the  seventh  or  ecstatic 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


175 


He  had  now  an  opportunity  of  observing  a  case.  Some 
persons  were  singing  hymns  in  Berridge's  house,  about  five 
in  the  afternoon,  and  presently  Wesley  was  summoned  by 
Berridge  himself,  with  information  that  one  of  them,  a  girl 
of  fifteen,  was  fallen  into  a  trance.  *'  I  went  down  imme- 
diately," says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  and  found  her  sitting  on  a 
stool  and  leaning  against  the  wall,  with  her  eyes  open  and 
fixed  upward.  I  made  a  motion,  as  if  going  to  strike  ;  but 
they  continued  immovable.  Her  face  showed  an  unspeak- 
able mixture  of  reverence  and  love,  while  silent  tears  stole 
down  her  cheek.  Her  lips  were  a  little  open,  and  some- 
times moved,  but  not  enough  to  cause  any  sound.  I  do 
not  know  whether  I  ever  saw  a  human  face  look  so  beau- 
tiful. Sometimes  it  was  covered  with  a  smile,  as  from  joy 
mixing  with  love  and  reverence ;  but  the  tears  fell  still, 
though  not  so  fast.  Her  pulse  was  quite  regular.  In  about 
half-an-hour,  I  observed  her  countenance  change  into  the 
form  of  fear,  pity,  and  distress.  Then  she  burst  into  a  flood 
of  tears,  and  cried  out, '  Dear  Lord  !  they  will  be  damned  ! 
they  2vill  all  be  damned  !'  But,  in  about  five  minutes,  her 
smiles  returned,  and  only  love  and  joy  appeared  in  her  face. 
About  half-an-hour  after  six  I  observed  distress  take  place 
again,  and,  soon  after,  she  wept  bitterly,  and  cried,  *  Dear 
Lord,  they  will  go  to  hell  !  the  world  will  go  to  hell !'  Soon 
after  she  said,  *  Cry  aloud!  spare  not!'  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments her  look  was  composed  again,  and  spoke  a  mixture 
of  reverence,  joy,  and  love.  Then  she  said  aloud, '  Give  God 
the  glory  !'    About  seven  her  senses  returned.    I  asked, 

*  Where  have  you  been  ]' — *  I  have  been  with  my  Savior.' 

*  In  heaven,  or  on  earth  ]' — *  I  can  not  tell ;  but  I  was  in  glo- 
ry !*  *Why,  then,  did  you  cry]' — 'Not  for  myself,  but 
for  the  world ;  for  I  saw  they  were  on  the  brink  of  hell.' 

*  Whom  did  you  desire  to  give  the  glory  to  God  V — '  Minis- 
ters that  cry  aloud  to  the  world ;  else  they  will  be  proud ;  and 
then  God  will  leave  them,  and  they  will  lose  their  own  souls.' 

rade.  The  facts  it  would  be  now  quite  absurd  to  question ;  but  their 
irect  relation  to  the  magnetic  treatment,  as  effect  to  cause,  remains  as 
doubtful  as  at  the  beginning.  And  these  cases  of  the  Methodists  tend 
strongly  to  support  the  negative.  And  yet  it  is  singular  that,  of  the  very 
many  well  educated  men  who  have  produced  effects  of  this  kind,  or 
under  whose  treatment  such  phenomena  have  taken  place,  not  one 
should  have  withstood  the  conviction  of  their  having  exerted  a  direct 
causative  agency ;  though  several  have  earnestly  recommended  the  sup- 
pression of  the  practice  altogether,  as  rarely  beneficial,  and  often  inju- 
rious, nay,  calamitous. — S.  T.  C. 


176 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


With  all  his  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  (and  few  per- 
sons have  had  such  opportunities  of  extensive  and  intimate 
observation),  Wesley  had  not  discovered  that,  when  occa- 
sion is  afforded  for  imposture  of  this  kind,  the  propensity 
to  it  is  a  vice  to  which  children  and  young  persons  are 
especially  addicted.  If  there  be  any  natural  obliquity  of 
mind,  sufficient  motives  are  found  in  the  pride  of  deceiving 
their  elders,  and  the  pleasure  which  they  feel  in  exercising 
the  monkey-like  instinct  of  imitation.*  This  is  abundantly 
proved  by  the  recorded  tales  of  witchcraft  in  this  country, 
in  New  England,  and  in  Sweden  ;  and  it  is  from  subjects 
like  this  girl,  whose  acting  Wesley  beheld  with  reverential 
credulity,  instead  of  reasonable  suspicion,  that  the  friars 
have  made  regular-bred  saints,  such  as  Rosa  of  Peru,  and 
Catharine  of  Sienna.  With  regard  to  the  bodily  effects 
that  ensued,  whenever  the  spiritual  influenza  began,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  their  reality  ;  but  it  had  so  much  the 
appearance  of  an  influenza,  raging  for  a  while,  affecting 
those  within  its  sphere,  and  then  dying  away,  that  Wesley 
could  not  be  so  fully  satisfied  concerning  the  divine  and 
supernatural  exciting  cause,  as  he  had  been  when  first  the 
disease  manifested  itself  at  Bristol,  and  as  he  still  desired 
to  be.  "  I  have  generally  observed,"  said  he,  "  more  or 
less  of  these  outward  symptoms  to  attend  the  beginning  of 
a  general  work  of  God.  So  it  was  in  New  England,  Scot- 
land, Holland,  Ireland,  and  many  parts  of  England  ;  but, 
after  a  time,  they  gradually  decrease,  and  the  work  goes  on 
more  quietly  and  silently.  Those  whom  it  pleases  God  to 
employ  in  his  work  ought  to  be  quite  passive  in  this  re- 
spect :  they  should  choose  nothing,  but  leave  entirely  to 
him  all  the  circumstances  of  his  own  work." 

Returning  to  Everton,  about  four  months  afterward,  he 
found  "  a  remarkable  difference  as  to  the  manner  of  the 
work.  None  now  were  in  trances,  none  cried  out,  none 
fell  down,  or  were  convulsed.  Only  some  trembled  ex- 
ceedingly ;  a  low  murmur  was  heard,  and  many  were  re- 
freshed with  the  multitude  of  peace.''  The  disease  had 
spent  itself,  and  the  reflections  which  he  makes  upon  this 

*  This  is  a  just  and  happy  remark ;  but,  in  cases  like  this  of  Wesley's, 
no  one  ever  saw  it  who  did  not  instantly  see  that  it  was  an  actual  prod- 
uct of  some  strange  state  of  the  nervous  system,  utterly  unimitable  by 
volition. — S.  T.  C. 

["Just"  and  "happy"  the  remark  may  be  as  an  abstract  truth,  but 
in  its  connection  in  this  place  nothing  could  be  more  unjust  and  unhap- 
py, nor  more  unphilosophical. — Am.  Ed."} 


WBliLEY  I^^  MIDDLE  AGE. 


177 


cliange  show  that  others  had  begun  to  suspect  its  real  na- 
ture, and  that  he  himself  was  endeavoring  to  quiet  his  own 
Suspicions.  "  The  danger  wa^,"  says  he,  "  to  regard  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  too  much — such  as  outcries,  con- 
vulsions, visions,  trances ;  as  if  these  were  essential  to  the 
inward  work,  so  that  it  could  not  go  on  without  them. 
Perhaps  the  danger  is,  to  regard  them  too  little ;  to  con- 
delnn  them  altogether  ;  to  imagine  they  had  nothing  of  God 
in  them,  and  were  a  hinderance  to  his  work ;  whereas  the 
truth  is,  1.  God  suddenly  and  strongly  convinced  many 
that  they  were  lost  sinners,  the  natural  consequences 
whereof  were  sudden  outcries,  and  strong  bodily  convul- 
sions. 2.  To  strengthen  and  encourage  them  that  believ- 
ed, and  to  make  his  work  more  apparent,  he  favored  sev- 
eral of  them  with  divine  dreams  j  others  with  trances  and 
visions.  3.  In  some  of  these  instances,  after  a  time,  nature 
mixed  with  giace.  4.  Satan  likewise  mimicked  this  work 
of  God,  in  order  to  discredit  the  whole  work  ;  and  yet  it  is 
not  wise  to  give  up  this  part,  any  more  than  to  give  up  the 
whole.  At  first  it  was,  doubtless,  wholly  from  God  :  it  is 
partly  so  at  this  day  ;  and  He  will  enable  us  to  discern  how 
far,  in  every  case,  the  work  is  pure,  and  when  it  mixes  or 
degenerates.  Let  us  even  suppose  that,  in  some  few  cases, 
there  was  a  mixture  of  dissimulation ;  that  persons  pretend- 
ed to  see  or  feel  what  they  did  not,  and  imitated  the  cries 
or  convulsive  motions  of  those  who  were  really  ovei-power- 
ed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  yet  even  this  should  not  make  us 
either  deny  or  undervalue  the  real  work  of  the  Spirit.  The 
shadow  is  no  disparagement  of  the  substance,  nor  the  coun- 
terfeit of  the  real  diamond." 

His  tone,  perhaps,  was  thus  moderated,  because,  by  re- 
cording former  extravagances  of  this  kind  in  full  triumph, 
he  had  laid  himself  open  to  attacks  which  he  had  not  been 
able  to  repel.  Warburton  had  censured  these  things  with 
his  strong  sense  and  powers  of  indignant  sarcasm  ;  and  they 
had  been  exposed  still  more  effectually  by  Bishop  Laving- 
ton,  of  Exeter,  in  "  A  Comparison  between  the  Enthusiasm 
of  Methodists  and  of  Papists."  Here  Wesley,  who  was 
armed  and  proof  at  other  points,  was  vulnerable.  He  could 
advance  plausible  arguments,  even  for  the  least  defensible 
of  his  doctrines  ;  and  for  his  irregularities,  some  that  were 
valid  and  incontestable.  On  that  score  he  was  justified  by 
the  positive  good  which  Methodism  had  done,  and  was  do- 
ing ;  but  here  he  stood  convicted  of  a  credulity  discredit- 


178 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


able  to  himself,  and  dangerous  in  its  consequences ;  tlie 
whole  evil  of  scenes  so  disorderly,  so  scandalous,  and  so 
frightful,  was  distinctly  seen  by  his  opponents ;  and,  per- 
haps, they  did  not  make  a  sufficient  allowance  for  the  phe- 
nomena of  actual  disease,  and  the  manner  in  which,  upon 
their  first  appearance,  they  were  likely  to  affect  a  mind, 
heated  as  his  had  been  at  the  commencement  of  his  career. 
Id  all  his  other  controversies,  Wesley  preserved  that  ur- 
bane and  gentle  tone,  which  arose  from  the  genuine  be- 
nignity of  his  disposition  and  manners ;  but  he  replied  to 
Bishop  Lavington  with  asperity  :  the  attack  had  galled  him; 
he  could  not  but  feel  that  his  opponent  stood  upon  the  van- 
tage-ground; and,  evading  the  main  charge,  he  contented 
himself,  in  his  reply,*  with  explaining  away  certain  pass- 
ages, which  were  less  obnoxious  than  they  had  been  made 
to  appear,  and  disproving  some  personal  chargest  which  the 
bishop  had  repeated  upon  evidence  that  appeared,  upon 
inquiry,  not  worthy  of  the  credit  he  had  given  to  it.  But 
Wesley's  resentments  were  never  lasting  :  of  this,  a  pass- 
age in  his  Journal,  written  a  few  years  afterward,  affords 
a  pleasing  proof  Having  attended  service  at  Exeter  Cathe- 
dral, he  says,  "  I  was  well  pleased  to  partake  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  with  my  old  opponent,  Bishop  Lavington.  Oh,  may 
we  sit  down  together  in  the  kingdom  of  our  Father  !"  He 
understood  the  happiness  of  his  temper  in  this  respect,  and 
says  of  it,  "  I  can  not  but  stand  amazed  at  the  goodness  of 
God.  Others  are  most  assaulted  on  the  weak  side  of  their 
soul;  but  with  me  it  is  quite  otherwise.  If  I  have  any 
strength  at  all  (and  I  have  none  but  what  I  received),  it  is 
in  forgiving  injuries;  and  on  this  very  side  am  I  assault- 

*  His  Journal  shows  that  he  undertook  the  task  with  no  alacrity. 
"  I  began  writing  a  letter  to  the  Comparer  of  the  Papists  and  Method- 
ists. Heavy  work;  such  as  I  should  never  choose;  but  sometimes  it 
must  be  done.  Well  might  the  ancient  say,  '  God  made  practical  divini- 
ty necessary;  the  devil,  controversial.'  But  it  is  necessary.  We  must 
resist  the  devil,  or  he  will  not  flee  from  us." 

t  On  this  point  it  is  proper  to  state  that  he  does  justice  to  the  bishop 
in  his  Journal.  For  when  he  notices  that,  calling  upon  the  person  who 
was  named  as  the  accuser,  she  told  him  readily  and  repeatedly  that  she 
"never  saw  or  knew  any  harm  by  him,"  he  adds,  "  yet  I  am  not  sure 
that  she  has  not  said  just  the  contrary  to  others.  If  so,  she,  not  I,  must 
give  account  for  it  to  God." 

[And  yet,  despite  of  Robert  South ey's  praise,  that  book  of  Bishop 
Lavington  is  considered  by  almost  every  one  that  knows  it  (for  it  is 
passing  into  obscurity)  as  a  monument  of  disgrace  to  its  author.  Wes- 
ley might  well  dislike  the  task  of  replying  to  it,  for  it  was  a  strife  that 
could  afford  neither  pleasure  nor  applause. — Am.  Ed.  ] 


WESLEY  IN   MIDDLE  AGE. 


179 


ed  more  frequently  than  on  any  other.  Yet  leave  me  not 
here  one  hour  to  myself,  or  I  shall  betray  myself  and 
Thee!" 

Warburton,  though  a  more  powerful  opponent,  assailed 
him  with  less  effect.  Wesley  replied  to  him  in  a  respectful 
tone,  and  met  the  attack  fairly.  He  entered  upon  the 
question  of  Grace,  maintained  his  own  view  of  that  subject, 
and  repeated,  in  the  most  explicit  terms,  his  full  belief,  that 
the  course  which  he  and  his  coadjutors  had  taken  was 
approved  by  miracles.*  "I  have  seen  with  my  eyes,"  said 
he,  "  and  heard  with  my  ears,  several  things  which,  to  the 
best  of  my  judgment,  can  not  be  accounted  for  by  the 
ordinary  course  of  natural  causes,  and  which  I  therefore 
believe  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  the  extraordinary  interposi- 
tion of  God.  If  any  man  choose  to  call  these  miracles,  I 
reclaim  not.  I  have  weighed  the  preceding  and  following 
circumstances  ;  I  have  strove  to  account  for  them  in  a 
natural  way ;  but  could  not,  without  doing  violence  to  my 
reason."  He  instanced  the  case  of  John  Haydon,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  himself,  by  an  effort  of  faith,  had 
thrown  off  a  fever.  The  truth  of  these  facts,  he  said,  was 
supported  by  the  testimony  of  competent  witnesses,  in  as 
high  a  degree  as  any  reasonable  man  could  desire :  the 
witnesses  were  many  in  number,  and  could  not  be  deceived 
themselves ;  for  they  saw  with  their  own  eyes,  and  heard 
with  their  own  ears.  He  disclaimed  for  himself  any  part 
in  these  and  the  other  cases,  which  might  appear  to  re- 
dound to  his  praise  :  his  will,  or  choice,  or  desire,  he  said, 
had  no  place  in  them ;  and  this,  he  argued,  had  always 
been  the  case  with  true  miracles ;  for  God  interposed  his 
miraculous  powers  always  according  to  his  own  sovereign 
will ;  not  according  to  the  will  of  man ;  neither  of  him  by 
whom  he  wrought,  nor  of  any  other  man  whatsoever.  So 
many  such  interpositions,  he  affirmed,  had  taken  place,  as 
.would  soon  leave  no  excuse  either  for  denying  or  despising 
them,  "  We  desire  no  favor,''  said  he,  "  but  the  justice^ 
that  diligent  inquiry  may  be  made  concerning  them.  We 
are  ready  to  name  the  persons  on  whom  the  power  was 
shown,  which  belongeth  to  none  but  God  (not  one  or  two, 

*  [If  by  the  term  "  miracle"  Mr.  Southey  means  no  more  than  an 
interposition  of  supernatural  power,  in  the  \vay  of  grace  or  providence, 
no  friend  of  Mr.  Wesley  will  deny  the  charge  here  made;  but  if  any 
thing  more  is  intended,  the  charge  is  denied,  and  proof  more  explicit 
than  that  given  above  demanded. — Am.  Ed.'\ 


180 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


or  ten,  or  twelve,  only) — to  point  out  their  places  of  abode ; 
and  we  engage  they  shall  answer  every  pertinent  question 
fairly  and  directly ;  and,  if  required,  shall  give  all  their 
answers  upon  oath,  before  any  who  are  empowered  to 
receive  them.  It  is  our  particular  request,  that  the  cir- 
cumstances which  went  before,  which  accompanied,  and 
which  followed  after  the  facts  under  consideration,  may  be 
thoroughly  examined,  and  punctually  noted  down.  Let 
but  this  be  done  (and  is  it  not  highly  needful  it  should,  at 
least  by  those  who  would  form  an  exact  judgment  1)  and 
we  have  no  fear  that  any  reasonable  man  should  scruple  to 
say,  "  This  hath  God  wrought." 

It  had  never  entered  into  Wesley's  thoughts,  when  he 
thus  appealed  to  what  were  called  the  outward  signs,  as 
certainly  miraculous,  that  they  were  the  manifestations  of 
a  violent  and  specific  disease,  produced  by  excessive  ex- 
citement of  the  mind,  communicable  by  sympathy,  and 
highly  contagious.  We  are  yet  far  from  understanding 
the  whole  power  of  the  mind  over  the  body  ;  nor,  perhaps, 
will  it  ever  be  fully  understood.  It  was  very  little  regarded 
in  Wesley's  time  :  these  phenomena  therefore  were  con- 
sidered by  the  Methodists,  and  by  those  who  beheld  them, 
as  wholly  miraculous ;  by  all  other  persons,  as  mere  ex- 
hibitions of  imposture.  Even  Charles  Wesley,  when  he 
discovered  that  much  was  voluntary,  had  no  suspicion  that 
the  rest  might  be  natural ;  and  John,  in  all  cases  where 
any  thing  supernatural  was  pretended,  was,  of  all  men,  the 
most  credulous.  In  the  excesses  at  Everton  he  had,  how- 
ever reluctantly,  perceived  something  which  savored  of 
fraud  ;  and,  a  few  years  afterwai  d,  circumstances  of  much 
greater  notoriety  occurred,  when,  from  the  weakness  of 
his  mind,  he  encouraged  at  first  a  dangerous  enthusiasm, 
which  soon  broke  out  into  open  madness. 

Among  his  lay  preachers,  there  was  a  certain  George 
Bell,  who  had  formerly  been  a  life-guardsman.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley published,  as  plainly  miraculous,  an  account  of  an  in- 
stantaneous cure  wrought  by  this  man  :  it  was  a  surgical 
case,*  and  must  therefore  either  have  been  miracle  or 

*  "  Dec.  26,  1760.  I  made  a  particular  inquiry  into  the  case  of  Mary 
Special,  a  young  woman  then  in  Tottenham-court-road.  She  said, 
'  Four  years  since,  I  found  much  pain  in  my  breasts,  and  afterward 
hard  lumps.  Four  months  ago  my  left  breast  broke,  and  kept  running 
continually.  Growing  worse  and  worse,  after  some  time  I  was  recom- 
meaded  to  St.  George's  Hospital.  I  was  let  blood  many  times,  and 
took  hemlock  thrice  a-day ;  but  I  was  no  better,  the  pain  and  the  lumps 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


181 


fraud.  A  judicious  inquiry  would  have  shown  that  Bell, 
who  was  not  in  a  sane  mind,  had  been  a  dupe  in  this  busi- 
ness ;  but  Wesley  contented  himself  with  the  patient's 
own  relation,  accredited,  it  without  scruple,  and  recorded 
it  in  a  tone  of  exultation.  Bell  was  at  that  time  crazy,  and 
any  doubt  which  he  might  have  entertained  of  his  own 
supernatural  gifts,  was  removed  by  this  apparent  miracle, 
the  truth  of  which  was  thus  attested.  Others  who  listened 
to  him  became  as  crazy  as  himself;  and  Wesley  was  per- 
suaded that,  "  being  full  of  love,"  they  were  actually  "  fa- 
vored with  extraordinary  revelations  and  manifestations 
from  God.  But  by  this  very  thing,"  says  he,  "  Satan  be- 
guiled them  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  By 
insensible  degrees,  they  were  led  to  value  these  extraordi- 
nary gifts  more  than  the  ordinary  grace  of  God ;  and  I 
could  not  convince  them,  that  a  grain  of  humble  love  was 
better  than  all  these  gifts  put  together." 

In  the  height  of  George  Bell's  extravagance,  he  attempted 
to  restore  a  blind  man  to  sight,  touched  his  eyes  with  spit- 
tle, and  pronounced  the  word  Ephphatha.  The  ecclesias- 
tical authorities  ought  to  have  a  power  of  sending  such 

were  the  same,  and  both  my  breasts  were  quite  hard,  and  black  as  soot ; 
when,  yesterday  se'nnight,  I  went  to  Mr.  Owen's,  where  there  was  a 
meeting  for  prayer.  Mr.  Bell  saw  me  and  asked,  Have  you  faith  to 
be  healed  ?  I  said,  yes.  He  prayed  for  me,  and  in  a  moment,  all  my 
pain  was  gone.  But  the  next  day  I  felt  a  little  pain  again  :  I  clapped 
my  bands  on  my  breasts,  and  cried  out.  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst 
make  me  whole  !  It  was  gone ;  and,  from  that  hour  I  have  had  no 
pain,  no  soreness,  no  lumps  or  swelling,  but  both  my  breasts  were  per- 
fectly well,  and  I  have  been  so  ever«ince.'  Now,"  says  Mr.  Wesley, 
"  here  are  plain  facts  :  1.  she  was  ill;  2.  she  is  well;  3.  she  became  so 
in  a  moment.  Which  of  these  can,  with  any  modesty,  be  denied  ?"  It 
is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  after  Bell  had  become  decidedly  crazy, 
recovered  his  wits,  forsaken  the  Methodists,  and  professed  himself  a 
thorough  unbeliever,  Mr.  Wesley  should  still  have  believed  this  story, 
and  have  persisted  in  asking  the  same  question,  without  suspecting  any 
deceit  in  either  party.  The  fraud  lay  in  the  woman,  Bell  being  a  thor- 
ough enthusiast  at  that  time.* 


*  la  it  ascertained  that  Wesley  did  not  make  inquiry  at  St.  George's  Hospital  1 
Wesley  publistied  it  immediately.  It  would  be  odd  that  neither  physician,  surgeon, 
apothecary,  sister,  or  student  should  have  come  forward  to  undeceive  the  public,  or 

Wesley  at  least.    As  to  the  fact  itself,  Southey's  "  must  either  or  "  is 

grounded  on  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  complaint  here  described.  It  was  not  a 
surgical  (i.  e.,  not  medical)  case,  though  one  that  by  courtesy  surgeons  in  London 
may  take  in  hand.  Nay,  it  is  of  that  class  which  have  been  found  most  often  and 
most  influenced  by  stimulants  of  imagination,  sudden  acts  of  active  and  passive  voli- 
tion, and  (next  akin  to  these)  by  regulated  friction— touching,  or  breathing,  and  the 
Jike.  Had  the  second  case,  that  of  the  blind  man,  been  amaurotic,  or  a  case  of  dis- 
ordered function,  not  organic  disease  or  defect,  in  all  probability  the  enthusiastic 
sturdy  life-guardsman  would  have  cured  it.— S.  T.  C. 


182 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


persons  to  Bedlam,  for  the  sake  of  religion  and  of  decency, 
and  for  the  general  good ;  but  such  madmen  in  England 
are  suffered  to  go  abroad,  and  bite  whom  they  please  with 
impunity.  The  failure  of  the  blasphemous  experiment 
neither  undeceived  him  nor  his  believers ;  and  they  ac- 
counted for  it  by  saying,  that  the  patient  had  not  faith  to 
be  healed.  Wesley  had  begun  to  suspect  the  sanity  of 
these  enthusiasts,  because  they  had  taken  up  a  notion,  from 
a  text  in  the  Revelations,  that  they  should  live  forever. 
As,  however,  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  happened  to  go 
raving  mad,  and  die,  he  thought  the  delusion  would  be 
checked ;  as  if  a  disease  of  the  reason  could  be  cured  by 
the  right  exercise  of  the  diseased  faculty  itself!  Moreover, 
with  their  enthusiasm  personal  feelings  were  mixed  up,  of 
dislike  toward  him  and  his  brother,  arising  from  an  impa- 
tience of  their  superiority  ;  and  this  feeling  induced  Max- 
field  to  stand  forward  as  the  leader  of  the  innovators, 
though  he  was  not  the  dupe  of  their  delusions.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley desired  the  parties  to  meet  him,  that  all  misunderstand- 
ings might  be  removed.  Maxfield  alone  refused  to  come. 
"Is  this,"  said  Wesley,  "the  first  step  toward  a  separation! 
Alas  for  the  man,  alas  for  the  people  I"  It  is  said  that  no 
other  event  ever  grieved  him  so  deeply  as  the  conduct  of 
Maxfield  ;  for  it  at  once  impeached  his  judgment,  and 
wounded  him  as  an  act  of  ingratitude.  Maxfield  was  the 
first  person  whom  he  had  consented  to  hear  as  a  lay 
preacher,  and  the  first  whom  he  authorized  to  cooperate 
with  him  in  that  character :  and  so  highly  did  he  value 
him,  that  he  had  obtained  ordination  for  him  from  the 
Bishop  of  Londonderry.  This  prelate  was  one  of  the 
clergy  who  encouraged  Mr.  Wesley  in  Ireland  ;  and  when 
he  performed  the  ceremony,  he  said  to  Maxfield,  "  Sir,  I 
ordain  you  to  assist  that  good  man,  that  he  may  not  work 
himself  to  death!"  But  of  all  the  lessons  which  he  learned 
from  Wesley,  it  now  appeared  that  that  of  insubordination 
was  the  one  in  which  he  was  most  perfect. 

The  breach,  however,  was  not  immediate  :  some  conces- 
sions were  made  by  Maxfield  ;  and  Wesley,  after  a  while, 
addressed  a  letter  to  him  and  his  associates,  especially 
George  Bell,  telling  them  what  he  disliked  in  their  doc- 
trines, spirit,  and  outward  behavior.  He  objected  to  their 
teaching  that  man  might  be  as  perfect  as  an  angel ;  that  he 
can  be  absolutely  perfect ;  that  he  can  be  infallible,  or 
above  being  tempted;  or,  that  the  moment  he  is  pure  in 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


183 


heart,  he  can  not  fall  from  it.  To  this,  however,  his  own 
language  had  given  occasion ;  for  the  doctrine  which  he 
taught,  of  "  a  free,  full,  and  present  salvation,  from  all  the 
guilt,  all  the  power,  and  all  the  in-being  of  sin,"  differs  but 
a  hair's  breadth  from  the  tenet  which  he  now  justly  con- 
demned. He  objected  to  their  saying,  "  that  one  saved 
from  sin  needs  nothing  more  than  looking  to  Jesus — needs 
not  to  hear  or  think  of  any  thing  else ;  believe^  believe  is 
enough  ;  that  he  needs  no  self-examination,  no  times  of 
private  prayer ;  needs  not  mind  little  or  outward  things  ; 
and  that  he  can  not  be  taught  by  any  person  who  is  not  in 
the  same  state."  He  disliked,  he  said,  "  something  that 
had  the  appearance  of  enthusiasm — overvaluing  feelings 
and  inward  impressions ;  mistaking  the  mere  work  of  ima- 
gination for  the  voice  of  the  Spirit ;  expecting  the  end 
without  the  means  ;  and  undervaluing  reason,  knowledge, 
and  wisdom  in  general."  He  disliked  "  something  that 
had  the  appearance  of  Antinomianism  ;  not  magnifying  the 
law,  and  making  it  honorable  ;  not  enough  valuing  tender- 
ness of  conscience,  and  exact  watchfulness  in  order  thereto  ; 
and  using  faith  rather  as  contradistinguished  from  holiness, 
than  as  productive  of  it."  He  blamed  them  for  slighting 
any,  the  very  least,  rules  of  the  Bands,  or  Society ;  for  the 
disorder  and  extravagances  which  they  introduced  in  their 
public  meetings  ;  and,  above  all,  for  the  bitter  and  unchar- 
itable spirit  which  they  manifested  toward  all  who  differed 
from  them.  And  he  bade  them  read  this  letter  of  mild 
reproof,  calmly  and  impartially,  before  the  Lord  in  prayer; 
so,  he  said,  should  the  evil  cease,  and  the  good  remain,  and 
they  would  then  be  more  than  ever  united  to  him. 

Wesley  was  not  then  aware  of  Maxfield's  intention  to 
set  up  for  himself,  and  hardly  yet  suspected  the  insanity 
of  Bell,  his  colleague.  Upon  hearing  the  latter  hold  forth, 
he  believed  that  part  of  what  he  said  was  from  God  (so 
willing  was  Wesley  to  be  deceived  in  such  things  !),  and 
part  from  a  heated  imagination  ;  and  seeing,  he  says, 
nothing  dangerously  wrong,  he  did  not  think  it  necessary 
to  hinder  him.  The  next  trial,  however,  convinced  him 
that  Bell  must  not  be  suffered  to  pray  at  the  Foundry  : 
"  the  reproach  of  Christ,"  said  he,  "  I  am  willing  to  bear, 
but  not  the  reproach  of  enthusiasm,  if  I  can  help  it."  That 
nothing  might  be  done  hastily,  he  suffered  him  to  speak, 
twice  more;  "but,"  says  he,  "it  was  worse  and  worse. 
He  now  spoke,  as  from  God,  what  I  knew  God  had  not 


184 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


spoken  ;  I  therefore  desired  that  he  would  come  thither  no 
more."  The  excommunication,  indeed,  could  no  longer 
be  delayed,*  for  George  Bell  had  commenced  prophet, 
and  proclaimed  everywhere  that  the  world  was  to  be  at  an 
end  on  the  28th  of  February  following.  This,  however, 
was  the  signal  for  separation  :  several  hundreds  of  the 
Society  in  London  threw  up  their  tickets,  and  withdrew 
from  their  connection  with  Wesley,  saying,  "  Blind  John  is 
not  capable  of  teaching  us — we  will  keep  to  Mr.  Maxfield !" 
for  Maxfield  was  the  leader  of  the  separatists;  and  Bell, 
notwithstanding  his  prophetic  pretensions,  appeared  only 
as  one  of  his  followers.  He,  indeed,  was  at  this  time  a 
downright  honest  madman.  The  part  which  Maxfield 
acted  was  more  suspicious :  he  neither  declared  a  belief 
or  disbelief  in  the  prediction  ;  but  he  took  advantage  of 
the  prophet's  popularity,  to  collect  a  flock  among  his  be- 
lievers, and  form  an  establishment  for  himself 

Often  as  the  end  of  the  world  has  been  prophesied  by 
madmen,  such  a  prediction  has  never  failed  to  excite  con- 
siderable agitation.  Wesley  exerted  himself  to  counteract 
the  panic  which  had  been  raised ;  and,  on  the  day  appoint- 
ed, he  exposed,  in  a  sermon,  the  utter  absurdity  of  the  sup- 
position that  the  world  would  be  at  an  end  that  night.  But 
he  says  that,  notwithstanding  all  he  could  say,  many  were 
afraid  to  go  to  bed,  and  some  wandered  about  the  fields, 
being  persuaded  that,  if  the  world  did  not  end,  at  least 
London  would  be  swallowed  up  by  an  earthquake.  He 
had  the  prudence,  before  the  day  amved,  to  insert  an  ad- 
vertisement in  the  provincial  newspapers,  disclaiming  all 
connection  with,  the  prophet  or  the  prophecy  ;  a  precaution 

*  Wesley  was  evidently  conscious  that  he  had  delayed  it  too  long-, 
and  that  he  had  lost  credit,  by  being,  or  appearing  to  be,  for  a  time, 
deceived  by  this  madman.  The  apology  which  he  makes  is  any  thing 
but  ingenuous.  "Perhaps,"  he  says,  "reason  (unenh"ghtened)  makes 
me  simple.  If  I  knew  less  of  human  nature,  I  should  be  more  apt  to 
stumble  at  the  weakness  of  it ;  and  if  I  had  not  too,  by  nature  or  by 
grace,  some  clearness  of  apprehension.  It  is  owing  to  this  (under  God) 
that  I  never  staggered  at  all  at  the  reveries  of  George  Bell.  I  saw  in- 
stantly, from  the  beginning,  and  at  the  beginning,  what  was  right,  and 
what  was  wTong ;  but  I  saw,  withal,  '  I  have  many  things  to  speak,  but 
ye  can  not  bear  them  now.'  Hence  many  imagine  I  was  imposed  upon, 
and  applauded  themselves  on  their  own  greater  perspicuity,  as  they  do 
at  this  day.  But  if  you  knew  it,  said  his  friend  to  Gregorio  Lopez, 
why  did  you  not  tell  me  ?  I  answer  with  him,  '  I  do  not  speak  all  I 
know,  but  what  I  judge  needful.'  " 

[How  is  this  disingenuous? — Am.  Ed."] 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


185 


which  was  of  great  service  to  poor  George  Story ;  for,  in 
the  course  of  itinerating,  he  arrived  at  Darlington  on  the 
day  appointed.  The  people  in  that  neighborhood  had 
been  sorely  frightened  ;  but  fear  had  given  place  to  indig- 
nation, and,  in  their  wrath,  they  threatened  to  pull  down 
the  Methodist  preaching-house,  and  bum  the  first  preacher 
who  should  dare  to  show  his  face  among  them.  Little  as 
Story  was  of  an  enthusiast,  he  told  the  mistress  of  the 
house,  if  she  would  venture  the  house,  he  would  venture 
himself ;  and,  upon  producing  the  advertisement  in  the 
Newcastle  paper,  and  reading  it  to  the  people,  they  were 
satisfied,  and  made  no  further  disturbance.  George  Bell 
recovered  his  senses,  to  make  a  deplorable  use  of  them  : 
passing  from  one  extreme  to  another,  the  ignorant  enthu- 
siast became  an  ignorant  infidel ;  turned  fanatic  in  politics, 
as  he  had  done  in  religion ;  and  having  gone  through  all 
the  degrees  of  disaffection  and  disloyalty,  died,  at  a  great 
age,  a  radical  reformer. 

This  affair,  if  it  made  Wesley  more  cautious  for  a  while, 
did  not  lessen  his  habitual  credulity.  His  disposition  to 
believe  whatever  he  was  told,  however  improbable  the  fact, 
or  insufficient  the  evidence,  was  not  confined  to  preternat- 
ural tales.  He  listened  to  every  old  woman's  nostrum  for 
a  disease,  and  collected  so  many  of  them,  that  he  thought 
himself  qualified  at  last  to  commence  practitioner  in  medi- 
cine. Accordingly,  he  announced  in  London  his  intention 
of  giving  physic  to  the  poor,  and  they  came  for  many  years 
in  great  numbers,  till  the  expense  of  distributing  medicines 
to  them  was  greater  than  the  Society  could  support.  At 
the  same  time,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  people  to  cure 
themselves,  he  published  his  collection  of  receipts,  under 
the  title  of  "  Primitive  Physic ;  or,  an  easy  and  natural 
Method  of  curing  most  Diseases."  In  his  preface  he 
showed,  that  the  art  of  healing  was  originally  founded  on 
experiments,  and  so  became  traditional  :  inquiring  men,  in 
process  of  time,  began  to  reason  upon  the  facts  which  they 
knew,  and  formed  theories  of  physic,  which,  when  thus 
made  theoretical,  was  soon  converted  into  a  mystery  and  a 
craft.  Some  lovers  of  mankind,  however,  had  still  from 
time  to  time  endeavored  to  bring  it  back  to  its  ancient 
footing,  and  make  it,  as  it  was  at  the  beginning,  a  plain, 
intelligible  thing  ;  professing  to  know  nothing  more  than 
that  certain  maladies  might  be  removed  by  certain  medi- 
cines J  and  his  mean  hand,  he  said,  had  made  a  like  at- 


186 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


tempt,  in  which  he  had  only  consulted  experience,  com- 
mon sense,  and  the  common  interest  of  mankind. 

The  previous  directions  which  he  gave  for  preventing 
diseases,  were  in  general  judicious.  He  advised  early- 
hours,  regular  exercise,  plain  diet,  and  temperance  ;  and 
he  pointed  out,  not  without  effect,  the  physical  benefits 
which  resulted  from  a  moral  and  religious  life.  "  All  vio- 
lent and  sudden  passions,"  he  said,  "  dispose  to,  or  actually 
throw  people  into,  acute  diseases.  The  slow  and  lasting 
passions,  such  as  grief,  and  hopeless  love,  bring  on  chron- 
ical diseases.  Till  the  passion  which  caused  the  disease 
is  calmed,  medicine  is  applied  in  vain.  The  love  of  God, 
as  it  is  the  sovereign  remedy  of  all  miseries,  so,  in  particu- 
lar, it  effectually  prevents  all  the  bodily  disorders  the  pas- 
sions introduce,  by  keeping  the  passions  themselves  within 
due  bounds ;  and  by  the  unspeakable  joy,  and  perfect 
calm  serenity  and  tranquillity  it  gives  the  mind,  it  becomes 
the  most  powerful  of  all  the  means  of  health  and  long  life." 
In  his  directions  to  the  sick,  he  recommends  them  to  **  add 
to  the  rest  (for  it  is  not  labor  lost)  that  old  unfashionable 
medicine,  prayer ;  and  to  have  faith  in  God,  who  '  killeth 
and  maketh  alive,  who  bringeth  down  to  the  grave,  and 
bringeth  up.'  "  The  book  itself  must  have  done  great 
mischief,  and  probably  may  still  continue  so  to  do  ;  for  it 
has  been  most  extensively  circulated,*  and  it  evinces 
throughout  a  lamentable  want  of  judgment,  and  a  perilous 
rashness,  advising  sometimes  means  of  ridiculous  inefficacy 
in  the  most  dangerous  cases,  and  sometimes  remedies  so 
rude,  that  it  would  be  marvelous  if  they  did  not  destroy 
the  patient.  He  believed,  however,  that  he  had  cured 
himself  of  what  was  pronounced  to  be  a  confirmed  con- 
sumption, and  had  every  symptom  of  it,  by  his  favorite 

*  The  current  edition,  which  is  now  before  me,  is  the  twenty-eighth. 
The  cold  bath  is  prescribed  for  ague,  just  before  the  cold  fit ;  for  pre- 
venting apoplexy ;  for  weak  infants,  every  day,  and  for  cancer.  For 
films  in  the  sight,  the  eyes  are  to  be  touched  with  lunar  caustic  every 
day;  zibethum  occidentale,  dried  slowly,  and  finely  pulverized,  is  to  be 
blown  into  them.  For  siphylis,  an  ounce  of  quicksilver  every  morn- 
ing ;  and  for  the  twisting  of  the  intestines,  quicksilver,  ounce  by  ounce, 
to  the  amount  of  one,  two,  or  three  pounds  !  Toa-sted  cheese  is  recom- 
mended for  a  cut;  and,  for  a  rupture  in  children,  "  boil  a  spoonful  of 
egg-shells,  dried  in  an  oven,  and  powered,  in  a  pint  of  milk,  and  feed 
the  child  constantly  with  bread  boiled  in  this  milk !" 

[Wesley's  medical  book  was  bad  enough  in  all  conscience;  but  the 
reader  should  remember  that  Southey  is  an  admirable  painter — of  cari- 
catures.— Am.  Ed.'\ 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


187 


prescription  for  pleurisy,  a  plaster  of  brimstone  and  white 
of  egg,  spread  upon  brown  paper.  Upon  applying  this, 
the  pain  in  his  side,  he  says,  was  removed  in  a  few  minutes, 
the  fever  in  half-an-hour ;  and  from  that  hour  he  began  to 
recover  strength.  His  death  had  been  so  fully  expected, 
that  Whitefield  wrote  him  a  farewell  letter,  in  the  most 
affectionate  terms,  and  a  consolatory  one  to  his  brother 
Charles.  And  he  himself,  not  knowing,  he  says,  how  it 
might  please  God  to  dispose  of  him,  and  to  prevent  vile 
panegyric,  wrote  his  own  epitaph,  in  these  words : 

HERE  LIETH 
THE  BODY  OF  JOHN  WESLEY, 
A  BRAND  PLUCKED  OUT  OF  THE  BURNING  : 
WHO  DIED  OF  A  CONSUMPTION,  IN  THE  FIFTY-FIRST  YEAR  OF 
HIS  AGE, 

NOT  LEAVING,  AFTER  HIS  DEBTS   ARE  PAID,  TEN  POUNDS 
BEHIND  him; 
PRAYING 

GOD  BE  MERCIFUL  TO  ME  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT  ! 


**  He  ordered  that  this  (if  any)  inscription  should  be  placed  on  his 
tombstone." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  DEATH  OF  WHITE- 
FIELD.  FINAL   BREACH  BETWEEN  WESLEY  AND  THE  CAL- 

VINISTS. 

Whitefield  had  not  continued  long  at  enmity  with 
Wesley.  He  was  sensible  that  he  had  given  him  great 
and  just  offense  by  publishing  the  story  of  the  lots,  and  he 
acknowledged  this,  and  asked  his  pardon.  "Wesley's  was 
a  heart  in  which  resentment  never  could  strike  root :  the 
difference  between  them,  therefore,  as  far  as  it  was  per- 
sonal, was  made  up  ;  but,  upon  the  doctrines  in  dispute, 
they  remained  as  widely  separate  as  ever,  and  their  re- 
spective followers  were  less  charitable  than  themselves. 

Whitefield  also  had  become  a  married  man.  He  had 
determined  upon  this  in  America,  and  opened  his  inten- 
tions in  a  characteristic  letter  to  the  parents  of  the  lady 
whom  he  was  disposed  to  choose.  He  told  them,  that  he 
found  a  mistress  was  necessary  for  the  management  of  his 
increasing  family  at  the  Orphan  House ;  and  it  had  there- 
fore been  much  impressed  upon  his  heart  that  he  should 
marry,  in  order  to  have  a  help  meet  for  him  in  the  work 
whereunto  he  was  called.  "  This,"  he  proceeded,  "  comes 
(like  Abraham's  servant  to  Rebekah's  relations)  to  know 
whether  you  think  your  daughter,  Miss  E.,  is  a  proper 
person  to  engage  in  such  an  undertaking  ]  If  so,  whether 
you  will  be  pleased  to  give  me  leave  to  propose  marriage 
unto  her  ?  You  need  not  be  afraid  of  sending  me  a  refu- 
sal ;  for,  I  bless  God,  if  I  know  any  thing  of  my  own  heart, 
I  am  free  from  that  foolish  passion  which  the  world  calls 
love.  I  write,  only  because  I  believe  it  is  the  will  of  God 
that  I  should  alter  my  state ;  but  your  denial  will  fully 
convince  me,  that  your  daughter  is  not  the  person  appointed 
by  God  for  me.  But  I  have  sometimes  thought  Miss  E. 
would  be  my  helpmate,  for  she  has  often  been  impressed 
upon  my  heart.  After  strong  crying  and  tears  at  the 
Throne  of  Grace  for  direction,  and  after  unspeakable 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  180 


trouble  with  my  own  heart,  I  write  this.  Be  pleased  to 
spread  the  letter  before  the  Lord  ;  and  if  you  think  this 
motion  to  be  of  Him,  be  pleased  to  deliver  the  inclosed  to 
your  daughter.  If  not,  say  nothing ;  only  let  me  know  you 
disapprove  of  it,  and  that  shall  satisfy  your  obliged  friend 
and  servant  in  Christ."  The  letter  to  the  lady  was  writ- 
ten in  the  same  temper.  It  invited  her  to  partake  of  a  way 
of  life  which  nothing  but  devotion  and  enthusiasm  like 
his  could  render  endurable.  He  told  her  he  had  great 
reason  to  believe  it  was  the  divine  will  that  he  should  alter 
his  condition,  and  had  often  thought  she  was  the  person 
appointed  for  him  ;  but  he  should  still  wait  on  the  Lord  for 
direction,  and  heartily  entreat  him,  that  if  this  motion  were 
not  of  Him,  it  might  come  to  naught.  "  I  much  like,"  said 
he,  "  the  manner  of  Isaac's  marrying  with  Rebekah  ;  and 
think  no  marriage  can  succeed  well,  unless  both  parties 
concerned  are  like-minded  with  Tobias  and  his  wife.  I 
make  no  great  profession  to  you,  because  I  believe  you 
think  me  sincere.  The  passionate  expressions  which  car- 
nal courtiers  use,  I  think,  ought  to  be  avoided  by  those 
that  would  marry  in  the  Lord.  I  can  only  promise,  by  the 
help  of  God,  to  keep  my  matrimonial  vow,  and  to  do  what 
I  can  toward  helping  you  forward  in  the  great  work  of 
your  salvation.  If  you  think  marriage  will  be  any  way 
prejudicial  to  your  better  part,  be  so  kind  as  to  send  me  a 
denial."  The  Moravian  arrangement  for  pairing  their 
members  would  have  been  very  convenient  for  a  person  of 
this  temper. 

The  reply  which  he  received  informed  him  that  the  lady 
was  in  a  seeking  state  only,  and  surely,  he  said,  that  would 
not  do ;  he  must  have  one  that  was  full  of  faith  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Such  a  one  he  thought  he  had  found  in  a 
widow  at  Abergavenny,  by  name  James,  who  was  between 
thirty  and  forty,  and,  by  his  own  account,  neither  rich  nor 
beautiful,  but  having  once  been  gay,  was  now  a  despised 
follower  of  the  Lamb."  He  spoke  of  his  marriage  in  lan- 
guage which  would  seem  profane,  unless  large  allowances 
were  made  for  the  indiscreet  and  offensive  phraseology  of 
those  who  call  themselves  religious  professors.  The  suc- 
cess of  his  preaching  appears  at  this  time  to  have  intoxi- 
cated him  ;  he  fancied  that  something  like  a  gift  of  prophe- 
cy had  been  imparted  to  him ;  and,  when  his  wife  became 
pregnant,  he  announced  that  the  child  would  be  a  boy,  and 
become  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.    It  proved  a  boy,  and 


190  PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


the  father  publicly  baptized  him  in  the  Tabernacle,  and,  in 
the  presence  of  a  crowded  congregation,  solemnly  devoted 
him  to  the  service  of  God.  At  the  end  of  four  months  the 
child  died  ;  and  Whitefield  then  acknowledged  that  he  had 
been  under  a  delusion  :  "  Satan,"  he  said,  had  been  per- 
mitted to  give  him  some  wrong  impressions,  whereby  he 
had  misapplied  several  texts  of  Scripture."  The  lesson 
was  severe,  but  not  in  vain,  for  it  saved  him  from  any  fu- 
ture extravagances  of  that  kind.  His  marriage  was  not  a 
happy  one  ;*  and  the  death  of  his  wife  is  said,  by  one  of 
his  friends,  to  have  "  set  his  mind  much  at  liberty."  It  is 
asserted  that  she  did  not  behave  in  all  respects  as  she  ought; 
but  it  is  admitted  that  their  disagreement  was  increased  by 
some  persons  who  made  pretensions  to  more  holiness  than 
they  possessed.  Whitefield  was  irritable,  and  impatient 
of  contradiction  ;  and,  even  if  his  temper  had  been  as  hap- 
pily constituted  as  Wesley's,  his  habits  of  life  must  have 
made  him,  like  Wesley,  a  most  uncomfortable  husband. 

His  popularity,  however,  was  greatly  on  the  increase. 
So  great,  indeed,  was  his  confidence  in  his  powers  over  the 
rudest  of  mankind,  that  he  ventured  upon  preaching  to  the 
rabble  in  Moorfields,  during  the  Whitsun  holydays,  when, 
as  he  said,  Satan's  children  kept  up  their  annual  rendezvous 
there.  This  was  a  sort  of  pitched  battle  with  Satan,  and 
Whitefield  displayed  some  generalship  upon  the  occasion. 
He  took  the  field  betimes,  with  a  large  congregation  of 
"  praying  people"  to  attend  him,  and  began  at  six  in  the 
morning,  before  the  enemy  had  mustered  in  strength.  Not 
above  ten  thousand  persons  were  assembled,  waiting  for 
the  sports ;  and,  having  nothing  else  to  do,  they,  for  mere 
pastime,  presently  flocked  round  his  field-pulpit.  "  Glad 
was  I  to  find,"  says  he,  that  I  had  for  once,  as  it  were, 
got  the  start  of  the  devil."  Encouraged  by  the  success  of 
his  morning  preaching,  he  ventured  there  again  at  noon, 
when,  in  his  own  words,  "  the  fields,  the  whole  fields,  seem- 
ed, in  a  bad  sense  of  the  word,  all  white,  ready,  not  for 
the  Redeemer's,  but  Beelzebub's  harvest.  All  his  agents 
were  in  full  motion ;  drummers,  trumpeters,  merry-andrews, 
masters  of  puppet-shows,  exhibitors  of  wild  beasts,  players, 

*  It  is  not  likely  to  be  so,  as  may  be  judged  from  what  he  says  to 
one  of  his  married  friends:  "  I  hope  you  are  not  nimis  uxorius.  Take 
heed,  my  dear  B.,  take  heed  !  Time  is  short.  It  remains  that  those 
who  have  wives,  be  as  though  they  had  none.  Let  nothing  intercept 
or  interrupt  your  communion  with  the  Bridegroom  of  the  Church." 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  191 


&c.,  &c.,  all  busy  in  entertaining  their  respective  auditories." 
He  estimated  the  crowd  to  consist  of  from  twenty  to  thirty 
thousand  persons ;  and  thinking  that,  like  St.  Paul,  he  should 
now,  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  be  called  to  fight  with  wild 
beasts,  he  took  for  his  text,  **  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians."  "  You  may  easily  guess,"  says  he,  "  that  there  was 
some  noise  among  the  craftsmen,  and  that  I  was  honored 
with  having  a  few  stones,  dirt,  rotten  eggs,  and  pieces  of 
dead  cats  thrown  at  me,  while  engaged  in  calling  them 
from  their  favorite  but  lying  vanities.  My  soul  was,  indeed, 
among  lions  ;  but  far  the  greatest  part  of  my  congregation, 
which  was  very  large,  seemed  for  a  while  to  be  turned  into 
lambs."  He  then  gave  notice  that  he  would  preach  again 
at  six  in  the  evening.  "  I  came,"  he  says,  I  saw — but 
what  ]  Thousands  and  thousands  more  than  before,  if  pos- 
sible, still  more  deeply  engaged  in  their  unhappy  diver- 
sions, but  some  thousands  among  them  waiting  as  earnest- 
ly to  hear  the  Gospel.  This  Satan  could  not  brook.  One 
of  his  choicest  servants  was  exhibiting,  trumpeting,  on  a 
large  stage ;  but,  as  soon  as  the  people  saw  me  in  ray  black 
robes,  and  my  pulpit,  I  think  all,  to  a  man,  left  him  and  ran 
to  me.  For  a  while  I  was  enabled  to  lift  up  my  voice  like 
a  trumpet,  and  many  heard  the  joyful  sound.  God's  peo- 
ple kept  praying,  and  the  enemy's  agents  made  a  kind  of 
roaring  at  some  distance  from  our  camp.  At  length  they 
approached  nearer,  and  the  raerry-andrew  (attended  by 
others,  who  complained  that  they  had  taken  many  pounds 
less  that  day,  on  account  of  my  preaching)  got  upon  a 
man's  shoulders,  and  advancing  near  the  pulpit,  attempted 
to  slash  me  with  a  long,  heavy  whip  several  times,  but 
always,  with  the  violence  of  his  motion,  tumbled  down." 
Soon  afterward  they  got  a  recruiting  sergeant,  with  his 
drums,  fifes,  and  followers,  to  pass  through  the  congrega- 
tion. But  Whitefield,  by  his  tactics,  baffled  this  manceu- 
ver ;  he  ordered  them  to  make  way  for  the  king's  officers  ; 
the  ranks  opened  and,  when  the  party  had  marched  through, 
closed  again.  When  the  uproar  became,  as  it  sometimes 
did,  such  as  to  overpower  his  single  voice,  he  called  the 
voices  of  all  his  people  to  his  aid,  and  began  singing ;  and 
thus,  what  with  singing,  praying,  and  preaching,  he  con- 
tinued, by  his  own  account,  three  hours  upon  the  ground, 
till  the  darkness  made  it  time  to  break  up.  So  great  was 
the  impression  which  this  wonderful  man  produced  in  this 
extraordinary  scene,  that  more  than  a  thousand  notes  were 


192  PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


handed  up  to  him  from  persons  who,  as  the  phrase  is,  were 
brought  under  concern  by  his  preaching  that  day,  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  joined  his  congregation. 

On  the  Tuesday,  he  removed  to  Mary-le-bone  fields,  a 
place  of  similar  resort.  Here  a  Quaker  had  prepared  a 
very  high  pulpit  for  him,  but  not  having  fixed  the  supports 
well  in  the  ground,  the  preacher  found  himself  in  some 
jeopardy,  especially  when  the  mob  endeavored  to  push 
the  circle  of  his  friends  against  it,  and  so  to  throw  it  down. 
But  he  had  a  narrower  escape  after  he  had  descended  \ 
*'  for  as  I  was  passing,"  says  he,  "  from  the  pulpit  to  the 
coach,  I  felt  my  wig  and  hat  to  be  almost  off :  I  turned 
about,  and  observed  a  sword  just  touching  my  temples.  A 
young  rake,  as  I  afterward  found,  was  determined  to  stab 
me  ;  but  a  gentleman,  seeing  the  sword  thrusting  near  me, 
struck  it  up  with  his  cane,  and  so  the  destined  victim  prov- 
identially escaped."  The  man  who  made  this  atrocious 
attempt,  probably  in  a  fit  of  drunken  fury,  was  seized  by 
the  people,  and  would  have  been  handled  as  severely  as 
he  deserved,  if  one  of  Whitefield's  friends  had  not  shelter- 
ed him.  The  following  day  Whitefield  returned  to  the 
attack  in  Moorfields  :  and  here  he  gave  a  striking  example 
of  that  ready  talent  which  turns  every  thing  to  its  purpose. 
A  merry-andrew,  finding  that  no  common  acts  of  buffoon- 
ery were  of  any  avail,  got  into  a  tree,  near  the  pulpit,  and, 
as  much,  perhaps,  in  despite  as  in  insult,  exposed  his  bare 
posteriors  to  the  preacher,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people. 
The  more  brutal  mob  applauded  him  with  loud  laughter, 
while  decent  persons  were  abashed ;  and  Whitefield  him- 
self was  for  a  moment  confounded  ;  but,  instantly  recover- 
ing himself,  he  appealed  to  all,  since  now  they  had  such  a 
spectacle  before  them,  whether  he  had  wronged  human 
nature  in  saying,  with  Bishop  Hall,  that  man,  when  left  to 
himself,  is  half  a  fiend  and  half  a  brute  ;  or,  in  calling  him, 
with  William  Law,  a  motley  mixture  of  the  beast  and  devil! 
The  appeal  was  not  lost  upon  the  crowd,  whatever  it  might 
be  upon  the  wretch  by  whom  it  was  occasioned.  A  cir- 
cumstance at  these  adventurous  preachings  is  mentioned, 
which  affected  Whitefield  himself,  and  must  have  produced 
considerable  effect  upon  others  : — several  children,  of  both 
sexes,  used  to  sit  round  him,  on  the  pulpit,  while  he  preach- 
ed, for  the  purpose  of  handing  to  him  the  notes  whicli  were 
delivered  by  persons  upon  whom  his  exhortations  had  act- 
ed as  he  4esired.    Th^se  poor  children  were  exjjosed  to 


PROGRESS   OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  193 


all  the  missiles  with  which  he  was  assailed  :  however  much 
they  were  terrified  or  hurt,  they  never  shrunk;  "but,  on 
the  contrary,"  says  he,  "every  time  I  was  struck,  they  turn- 
ed up  their  little  weeping  eyes  and  seemed  to  wish  they 
could  receive  the  blows  for  me." 

Shortly  after  his  separation  from  Wesley,  some  Calvinist 
dissenters  built  a  large  shed  for  him,  near  the  Foundry, 
upon  a  piece  of  ground  which  was  lent  for  the  purpose,  till 
he  should  return  to  America.  From  the  temporary  nature 
of  the  structure,  they  called  it  a  Tabernacle,  in  allusion  to 
the  movable  place  of  worship  of  the  Israelites,  during  llieir 
journey  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  the  name  beirjg  in  puritan- 
ical taste,  became  the  designation  of  all  the  chapels  of  the 
Calvinistic  Methodists.  In  this  place  Whitefield  was  as- 
sisted by  Cennick  and  others,  who  sided  with  him  at  the 
division  ;  and  he  employed  lay  preachers  with  less  reluc- 
tance than  Wesley  had  done ;  because  the  liking  which  he 
had  acquired  in  America  for  the  old  Puritans  had  in  some 
degree  alienated  his  feelings  from  the  Church,  and  his  pre- 
destinariau  opinions  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  Dis- 
senters. But  Whitefield  had  neither  the  ambition  of  found- 
ing a  separate  community,  nor  the  talent  for  it ;  he  would 
have  contented  himself  with  being  the  founder  of  the  Or- 
phan House  at  Savannah,  and  with  the  effect  which  he  pro- 
duced as  a  roving  preacher;  and  Calvinistic  Methodism, 
perhaps,  might  never  have  been  embodied  into  a  separate 
sect,  if  it  had  not  found  a  patroness  in  Selina,  Countess  of 
Huntingdon. 

This  noble  and  elect  lady,"  as  her  followers  have  called 
her,  was  daughter  of  Wasliington,  Earl  of  Ferrers,  and 
widow  of  Theophilus,  Earl  of  Huntingdon.  There  was  a 
decided  insanity  in  her  family.  Her  sisters-in-law,  Lady 
Betty  and  Lady  Margaret  Hastings,  were  of  a  religious 
temper:  the  former  had  been  the  patroness  of  the  first 
Methodists  at  Oxford  ;  the  latter  had  become  a  disciple, 
and  at  length  married  Wesley's  old  pupil  and  fellow-mis- 
sionary, Ingham.  Lady  Margaret  communicated  her  opin- 
ions to  the  countess :  the  Wesleys  were  called  in  to  her; 
after  a  dangerous  illness,  which  had  been  terminated  by 
the  new  birth  ;  and  her  husband's  tutor.  Bishop  Benson, 
who  was  sent  for  afterward,  in  hopes  that  he  might  restore 
her  to  a  saner  sense  of  devotion,  found  all  his  arguments 
ineffectual :  instead  of  receiving  instructions  from  him,  she 
was  disposed  to  be  the  teacher,  quoted  the  Homilies  against 
roL.  II. — I 


194 


PROGRESS   OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


him,  insisted  upon  her  own  interpretation  of  the  Articles, 
and  attacked  him  upon  the  awful  responsibility  of  his  sta- 
tion. All  this  is  said  to  have  iiritated.  him:  the  emotion 
which  he  must  needs  have  felt,  might  have  been  more 
truly,  as  well  as  more  charitably,  interpreted  :  and  when 
he  left  her,  he  lamented  that  he  had  ever  laid  his  hands 
upon  George  Whitefield.  "  My  lord,"  she  replied,  "  mark 
my  words  !  when  you  come  upon  your  dying  bed,  that  will 
be  one  of  the  few  ordinations  you  will  reflect  upon  with 
complacence." 

"  During  the  earl's  life  she  restrained  herself,  in  deference 
to  his  wishes ;  but,  becoming  mistress  of  herself,  and  of  a 
liberal  income,  at  his  death,  she  took  a  more  decided  and 
public  part,  and,  had  means  permitted,  would  have  done  as 
much  for  Methodism  as  the  Countess  Matilda  did  for  the 
Papacy.  Upon  Whitefield's  return  from  America,  in  1748, 
he  was  invited  to  her  house  at  Chelsea,  as  soon  as  he 
landed.  And  after  he  had  officiated  there  twice,  she 
wrote  to  him,  inviting  him  again,  that  some  of  the  nobility 
might  hear  him.  "  Blessed  be  God,"  he  says,  in  his  reply, 
"  that  the  rich  and  great  begin  to  have  a  hearing  ear  :  I 
think  it  is  a  good,  sign  that  our  Lord  intends  to  give,  to 
some  at  least,  an  obedient  heart.  How  wonderfully  does 
our  Redeemer  deal  with  souls  !  If  they  will  hear  the 
Gospel  only  under  a  ceiled  roof,  ministers  shall  be  sent  to 
them  there  ;  if  only  in  a  church  or  a  field,  they  shall  have 
it  there.  A  word  in  the  lesson,  when  I  was  last  with  your 
ladyship,  struck  me — Paul  preached  privately  to  those  that 
were  of  reputation.  This  must  be  the  way,  I  presume,  of 
dealing  with  the  nobility,  who  yet  know  not  the  Lord." 
This  is  characteristic ;  and  his  answer  to  a  second  note, 
respecting  the  time,  is  still  more  so  ;  Ever  since  the 
reading  your  ladyship's  condescending  letter,  ray  soul  has 
been  overpowered  with  His  presence  who  is  all  in  all. 
When  your  ladyship  styled  me  your  friend,  I  was  amazed 
at  your  condescension;  but  when  I  thought  that  Jesus  was 
my  friend,  it  quite  overcame  me,  and  made  me  to  lie  pros- 
trate before  him,  crying,  Why  me?  why  me'?  I  just  now 
rose  from  the  ground,  after  praying  the  Lord  of  all  lords 
to  water  your  soul,  honored  madam,  every  moment.  As 
there  seems  to  be  a  door  opening  for  the  nobility  to  hear 
the  Gospel,  I  will  defer  my  journey,  and,  God  willing, 
pi-each  at  your  ladyship's.  Oh  that  God  may  be  with  me, 
and  make  me  humble  1    I  am  ashamed  to  think  your  lady-. 


TROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  195 


ship  will  admit  me  under  your  roof;  much  more  am  I 
amazed  that  the  Lord  Jesus  will  make  use  of  such  a  crea- 
ture as  I  am  ;  quite  astonished  at  your  ladyship's  conde- 
scension, and  the  unmerited  superabounding  grace  and 
goodness  of  Him  who  has  loved  me,  and  given  Himself  for 
me."  Wesley  would  not  have  written  in  this  strain,  which, 
for  its  servile  adulation,  and  its  canting  vanity,  might  well 
provoke  disgust  and  indignation,  were  not  the  real  genius 
and  piety  of  the  writer  beyond  all  doubt.  Such,  however, 
as  the  language  is,  it  was  natural  in  Whitefield,  and  not  ill 
suited  for  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 

Lord  Chesterfield  and  Bolingbroke  were  among  his 
auditors  at  Chelsea :  the  couutess  had  done  well  in  invi- 
ting those  persons  who  stood  most  in  need  of  repentance. 
The  former  complimented  the  preacher  with  his  usual 
courtliness ;  the  latter  is  said  to  have  been  much  moved 
at  the  discourse  :  he  invited  Whitefield  to  visit  him,  and 
seems  to  have  endeavored  to  pass  from  infidelity  to  Cal- 
vinism, if  he  could.  Lady  Huntingdon,  flattered,  perhaps, 
by  the  applause  which  was  bestowed  upon  the  performance, 
appointed  Whitefield  one  of  her  chaplains.  He,  at  this 
time,  writing  to  Mr.  Wesley,  says,  "  What  have  you  thought 
about  a  union  1  I  am  afraid  an  external  one  is  impracti- 
cable. I  find,  by  your  sermons,  that  we  differ  in  princi- 
ples more  than  I  thought,  and  I  believe  we  are  upon  two 
different  plans.  My  attachment  to  America  will  not  per- 
mit me  to  abide  very  long  in  England  ;  consequently  I 
should  but  weave  a  Penelope's  web  if  I  formed  societies  ; 
and,  if  I  should  form  them,  I  have  not  proper  assistants  to 
take  care  of  them.  I  intend,  therefore,  to  go  about  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  In  saying  that  he  had 
**  no  party  to  be  at  the  head  of,"  and  that,  through  God's 
grace,  he  would  have  none,  Whitefield  only  disclaimed  the 
desire  of  placing  himself  in  a  situation  which  he  was  not 
competent  to  fill :  at  this  very  time  he  was  sufficiently 
willing  that  a  party  should  be  formed,  of  which  he  might 
be  the  honorary  head,  while  the  management  was  in  other 
hands  :  for  he  told  the  elect  lady  that  a  leader  was  want- 
ing ;  and  that  that  honor  had  been  put  on  her  ladyship  by 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church — an  honor  which  had  been 
conferred  on  few,  but  which  was  an  earnest  of  what  she 
was  to  receive,  before  men  and  angels,  when  time  should 
be  no  more.  That  honor  Lady  Huntingdon  accepted. 
She  built  chapels  in  various  places,  which  were  called 


196  PROGRESS   OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


liers,  and  procured  Calvinistic  clergymen  to  officiate  in 
them.  After  a  time,  a  sufficient  supply  of  ordained  minis- 
ters could  not  be  found,  and  some  began  to  draw  back, 
when  they  perceived  that  the  course  of  action  in  which 
they  were  engaged  tended  manifestly  to  schism.  This, 
however,  did  not  deter  her  ladyship  from  proceeding :  she 
followed  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  emph)yed  lay- 
men without  scruple  ;  and  as  the  chapels  were  called  Lady 
Huntingdon's  chapels,  the  persons  who  officiated  were 
called  Lady  Huntingdon's  preachers.  At  length  she  set 
up  a  seminary  for  such  preachers,  at  Trevecca,*  in  South 
Wales;  and  this  was  called  Lady  Huntingdon's  College, 
and  the  Calvinist  Methodists  went  by  the  name  of  Lady 
Huntingdon's  connection.  The  terms  of  admission  were, 
that  the  students  should  be  truly  converted  to  God,  and 
resolved  to  dedicate  themselves  to  his  service.  During 
three  years  they  were  to  be  boarded  and  instructed  gratui- 
tously, at  her  ladyship's  cost,  and  supplied  every  year  with 
a  suit  of  clothes  :  at  the  end  of  that  time  they  were  either 
to  take  orders,  or  enter  the  ministry  among  dissenters  of 
any  denomination. 

Sincere  devotee  as  the  countess  was,  she  retained  much 
of  the  pride  of  birth.  For  this  reason  Whitefield,  who 
talked  of  her  amazing  condescension  in  patronizing  him, 
would  have  been  more  acceptable  to  her  than  Wesley, 
even  if  he  had  not  obtained  a  preference  in  her  esteem 
because  of  his  Calvinism;  and  perhaps  this  disposition 
inclined  her,  unconsciously,  to  favor  a  doctrine  which 
makes  a  privileged  order  of  souls.  Wesley,  therefore, 
who  neither  wanted,  nor  would  have  admitted,  patron  or 
patroness  to  be  the  temporal  head  of  the  societies  which 
he  had  formed,  and  was  as  little  likely  to  act  a  subordinate 
part  under  Lady  Huntingdon  as  under  Count  Zinzendorf, 
seems  never  to  have  been  cordially  liked  by  her,  and 
gradually  grew  into  disfavor.  The  reconciliation  with 
Whitefield  was,  perhaps,  produced  more  by  a  regard  to 
appearances  on  both  sides,  than  by  any  feeling  on  either. 
Such  a  wound  as  had  been  made  in  their  friendship  always 
leaves  a  scar,  however  well  it  may  have  healed.  They  in- 
terchanged letters,  not  very  frequently  ;  and  they  preached 
occasionally  in  each  other's  pulpits ;  but  there  was  no  cor- 
dial intercourse,  no  hearty  cooperation.  Whitefield  saw, 
and  disapproved,  in  Wesley,  that  ambition  of  which  the 
*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXlII.—>4»B.^;<f.] 


PROGRESS  OP  CALVINI3TIC  METHODISM.  197 


Other  was  not  conscious  in  himself,  largely  as  it  entered 
into  the  elements  of  his  character:  and  Wesley,  on  the 
Other  hand,  who  felt  his  own  superiority  in  intellect  and 
knowledge,  regarded  probably  as  a  weakness  the  homage 
which  was  paid  by  Whitefield  to  persons  in  high  life.  Yet 
they  did  justice  to  each  other's  intentions  and  virtues  :  and 
old  feelings  sometimes  rose  again,  as  from  the  dead  ;  like 
the  blossoming  of  spring  flowers  in  autumn,  which  remind 
us  that  the  season  of  hope  and  of  joyance  is  gone  by.  It 
is  pleasant  to  observe,  that  this  tenderness  increased  as 
they  advanced  toward  the  decline  of  life.  When  White- 
field  returned  from  America  to  England  for  the  last  time, 
Wesley  was  struck  with  the  change  in  his  appearance  : 
"  He  seemed,"  says  he,  in  his  Journal,  "  to  be  an  old  man, 
being  fairly  worn  out  in  his  Master's  service,  though  he 
has  hardly  seen  fifty  years  ;  and  yet  it  pleases  God  that  I, 
who  am  now  in  my  sixty-third  year,  find  no  disorder,  no 
weakness,  no  decay,  no  difference  from  what  I  was  at  five- 
and-twenty ;  only  that  I  have  fewer  teeth,  and  more  gray 
hairs." 

Lady  Huntingdon  had  collected  about  her  a  knot  of 
Calvinistic  clergy,  some  of  them  of  high  birth,  and  abound- 
ing as  much  with  bigotry  and  intolerance  as  with  zeal. 
Whitefield,  however,  at  this  time,  to  use  Wesley's  lan- 
guage, breathed  nothing  but  peace  and  love.  **  Bigotry," 
said  he,  "  can  not  stand  before  him,  but  hides  its  head 
wherever  he  comes.  My  brother  and  I  conferred  with 
him  every  day ;  and,  let  the  honorable  men  do  what  they 
please,  we  resolved,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  go  on,  hand  in 
hand,  through  honor  and  dishonor."  Accordingly,  Wesley 
preached  in  the  countess'  chapel,  where,  he  says,  many 
were  not  a  little  surprised  at  seeing  him,  and  where  it 
appears  that  he  did  not  expect  to  be  often  invited  ;  for  he 
adds,  that  he  was  in  no  concern  whether  he  preached  there 
again  or  not.  Whitefield  and  Howel  Harris  (a  man  whose 
genuine  charity  was  no  ways  corrupted  by  his  opinions) 
attended  at  the  next  Conference. 

This  union  continued  till  Whitefield  returned  to  America, 
in  1769,  and  died  there  in  the  following  year.  A  fear  of 
outliving  his  usefulness  had  often  depressed  him  :  and  one 
day,  when,  giving  way  to  an  irritable  temper,  he  brought 
tears  from  one  who  had  not  deserved  such  treatment,  he 
burst  into  tears  himself,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  shall  live  to  be 
a  poor,  peevish  old  man,  and  every  body  will  be  tired  of 


198 


DEATH   OF  WIIITEFIELD. 


me  !"  He  wished  for  a  sudden  death  ;  and  that  blessing 
was  so  far  vouchsafed  him,  that  the  illness  which  proved 
fatal  was  only  of  a  few  hours'  continuance.  It  was  a  fit  of 
asthma  :  when  it  seized  him  first,  one  of  his  friends  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  he  would  not  preach  so  often  ;  and  his 
reply  was,  "  I  had  rather  wear  out,  than  rust  out."  He 
died  at  Newburyport,  in  New  England  ;*  and,  according 
to  his  own  desire,  was  buried  before  the  pulpit,  in  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  that  town.  Every  mark  of  respect 
was  shown  to  his  remains  :  all  the  bells  in  the  town  tolled, 
and  the  ships  in  the  harbor  fired  mourning  guns,  and  hung 
their  flags  half-mast  high.  In  Georgia,  ail  the  black  cloth 
in  the  stores  was  bought  up,  and  the  church  was  hung  with 
black  :  the  governor  and  council  met  at  the  state-house  in 
deep  mourning,  and  went  in  procession  to  hear  a  funeral 
sermon.  Funeral  honors  also  were  performed  throughout 
the  tabernacles  in  England.  He  had  been  asked  who 
should  preach  his  funeral  sermon,  in  case  of  his  dying 
abroad ;  whether  it  should  be  his  old  friend  Mr.  Wesley  ; 
and  had  always  replied,  He  is  the  man.  Mr.  Wesley,  there- 
fore, by  desire  of  the  executors,  preached  at  the  Taberna- 
cle in  Tottenham-court-road  (the  high-church  of  the  sect) ; 
and  in  many  other  places  did  the  same,  wishing,  he  said,  to 
show  all  possible  respect  to  the  memory  of  so  great  and 
good  a  man.  Upon  this  occasion  he  expresses  a  hope,  in 
his  Journal,  that  God  had  now  given  a  blow  to  that  bigotry 
which  had  prevailed  for  many  years  :  but  it  broke  out,  ere 
long,  with  more  virulence  than  ever. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Wesley's  endeavors  to  guard  his 
followers  against  the  Antinomian  errors,  the  stream  of 
Methodism  had  set  in  that  way.  It  is  a  course  which  en- 
thusiasm naturally  takes,  wherever,  from  a  blind  spirit  of 
antipathy  to  the  Romanists,  solifidianism  is  preached.  To 
correct  this  perilous  tendency  (for,  of  all  doctrinal  errors, 
there  is  none  of  which  the  practical  consequences  are  so 
pernicious),  Wesley  said,  in  the  Conference  of  1771,  "Take 
heed  to  your  doctrine  !  we  have  leaned  too  much  toward 
Calvinism.  1.  With  regard  to  man's  faithfulness:  our 
Lord  himself  taught  us  to  use  the  expression,  and  we 
ought  never  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  2.  With  regard  to 
working  for  I  fe:  this,  also,  the  Lord  has  expressly  com- 
manded us.    Labor,  epya^EOe,  literally,  work  for  the  meat 


[See  Appendix,  Note  XXIV.— ^m.  Ed.\ 


BREACH  WITH  THE  CALVINIST3. 


190 


that  endureth  to  everlasting  life.  3.  We  have  received  it 
as  a  maxim,  that  a  man  is  to  do  nothing  in  order  to  juHtifi- 
cation.  Nothing  can  be  more  false.  Whoever  desires  to 
find  favor  with  God,  should  cease  from  evil,  and  learn  to  do 
well.  Whoever  repents,  should  do  works  meet  for  repent- 
ance. And  if  this  is  not  in  order  to  find  favor,  what  does 
he  do  them  for?  Is  not  this  salvation  by  works  1  Not  by 
the  merit  of  works,  but  by  works  as  a  condition.  What 
have  we  then  been  disputing  about  for  these  thirty  years  1 
I  am  afraid,  about  words.  As  to  7nerit  itself,  of  which  we 
have  been  so  dreadfully  afraid,  we  are  rewarded  according 
to  our  works,  yea,  because  of  our  works.  How  does  this 
differ  from  for  the  sake  of  our  works?  And  how  differs 
this  from  secundum  merita  operum,  as  our  works  deserve  ? 
Can  you  split  this  hair]  I  doubt  I  can  not.  Does  not  talk- 
ing of  a  justified  or  sanctified  state  tend  to  mislead  men  ? — 
almost  naturally  leading  them  to  trust  in  what  was  done  in 
one  moment ;  whereas  we  are  every  hour,  and  every  mo- 
ment, pleasing  or  displeasing  to  Grod,  according  to  our 
works  ;  according  to  the  whole  of  our  inward  tempers,  and 
our  outward  behavior." 

This  language — candid,  frank,  and  reasonable  as  it  is — 
in  every  way  honorable  to  Mr.  Wesley,*  shocked  the  high- 
flying Calvinists.  The  alarm  was  taken  at  Trevecca  ;  and, 
notwithstanding  the  specious  liberality  which  had  been 
professed.  Lady  Huntingdon  declared,  that  whoever  did 
not  fully  disavow  these  minutes,  must  quit  the  college. 
The  students  and  masters  were  called  upon  to  deliver 
their  sentiments  in  writing,  without  reserve.  The  super- 
intendent, in  so  doing,  explained,  vindicated,  and  approved 
the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Wesley,  though  he  considered  the 
wording  as  unguarded,  and  not  sufficiently  explicit ;  and 
he  resigned  his  appointment  accordingly,  wishing  that  the 
countess  might  find  a  minister  to  preside  there  less  insuf- 
ficient than  himself,  and  more  willing  to  go  certain  lengths 
in  party  spirit. 

Jean  Guillaume  de  la  Flechere,  who  thus  withdrew 
from  Trevecca,  was  a  man  of  rare  talents,  and  rarer  virtue. 
No  age  or  country  has  ever  produced  a  man  of  more  fer- 

*  [To  this  generally  well  deserved  commendation  of  the  language  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  famous  Minutes,  one  exception  must  be  made.    It  was 
unguarded  ;  and  that  circumstance  doubtless  increased  both  the  niun- 
'  ber  and  the  zeal  of  his  opponents,  and  also  somewhat  embarrassed  his 
advocate  in  hia  triumphant  defense. — Am.  Ed.\ 


200 


MR.  FLETCHER. 


vent  piety,  or  more  perfect  charity  ;  no  church  has  ever 
possessed  a  more  apostolic  minister.  He  was  born  at 
Nyon,  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  of  a  respectable  Bernese 
family,  descended  from  a  noble  house  in  Savoy.  Having 
been  educated  for  the  ministry  at  Geneva,  he  found  himself 
unable  to  subscribe  to  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and 
resolved  to  seek  preferment  as  a  soldier  of  fortune.  Ac- 
cordingly he  went  to  Lisbon,  obtained  a  commission  in  the 
Portuguese  service,  and  was  ordered  to  Brazil.  A  lucky 
accident,  which  confined  him  to  his  bed  when  the  ship 
sailed,  saved  him  from  a  situation  where  his  fine  intellect 
would  have  been  lost,  and  his  philanthropic  piety  would 
have  had  no  room  to  display  itself.  He  left  Portugal  for 
the  prospect  of  active  service  in  the  Low  Countries  ;  and 
that  prospect  also  being  disappointed  by  peace,  he  came 
over  to  England,  improved  himself  in  the  language,  and 
became  tutor  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Hill,  of  Fern  Hall,  in 
Shropshire.  The  love  of  God  and  of  man  abounded  in  his 
heart ;  and  finding  among  the  Methodists  that  sympathy 
which  he  desired,  he  joined  them,  and  for  a  time  took  to 
ascetic  courses,  of  which  he  afterward  acknowledged  the 
error.  He  lived  on  vegetables,  and  for  some  time  on  milk 
and  water,  and  bread  :  he  sat  up  two  whole  nights  in  every 
week,  for  the  purpose  of  praying,  and  leading,  and  medi- 
tating on  religious  things  ;  and  on  the  other  nights  never 
allowed  himself  to  sleep,  as  long  as  he  could  keep  his 
attention  to  the  book  before  him.  At  length,  by  the  advice 
of  his  friends,  Mr.  Hill  and  Mr.  Wesley,  whom  he  con- 
sulted, he  took  orders  in  the  English  Church.  The  ordi- 
nation took  place  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's,  and,  as 
soon  as  it  was  over,  he  went  to  the  Methodist  Chapel  in 
West-street,  where  he  assisted  in  administering  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Wesley  had  never  received  so  seasonable  an 
assistance.  "  How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God  !"  said 
he,  in  his  Journal.  "  When  my  bodily  strength  failed, 
and  none  in  England  were  able  and  willing  to  assist  me. 
He  sent  me  help  from  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  and  an 
help  meet  for  me  in  every  respect.  Where  could  I  have 
found  such  another !"  It  proved  a  more  efficient  and 
important  help  than  Mr.  Wesley  could  then  have  antici- 
pated. 

Mr,  Fletcher  (for  so  he  now  called  himself,  being  com- 
pletely anglicized)  incurred  some  displeasure  by  the  de- 
cided manner  in  which  he  connected  himself  with  the 


MR.   FLETCHER.  201 

Methodists.  Neither  his  talents  nor  his  virtues  were  yet 
understood  beyond  the  circle  of  his  friends.  By  Mr.  Hill's 
means,  however,  he  was  presented  to  the  vicarage  of 
Madely,  in  Shropshire,  about  three  years  after  his  ordina- 
tion. It  is  a  populous  village,  in  which  there  were  exten- 
sive collieries  and  iron-works ;  and  the  character  of  tho 
inhabitants  was,  in  consequence,  what,  to  the  reproach 
and  curse  of  England,  it  generally  is,  wherever  mines  or 
manufactures  of  any  kind  have  brought  together  a  crowded 
population.  Mr.  Fletcher  had  at  one  time  officiated  there 
as  curate  :  he  now  entered  upon  his  duty  with  zeal  pro- 
portioned to  the  arduous  nature  of  the  service  which  he 
had  pledged  himself  to  perform.  That  zeal  made  him 
equally  disregardful  of  appearances  and  of  danger.  The 
whole  rents  of  his  small  patrimonial  estate  in  the  Pays  de 
Vaud  were  set  apart  for  charitable  uses,  and  he  drew  so 
liberally  from  his  other  funds,  for  the  same  purpose,  that 
his  furniture  and  wardrobe  were  not  spared.  Because 
some  of  his  remoter  parishioners  excused  themselves  for 
not  attending  the  morning  service,  by  pleading  that  they 
did  not  awake  early  enough  to  get  their  families  ready, 
for  some  months  he  set  out  every  Sunday,  at  five  o'clock, 
vrith  a  bell  in  his  hand,  and  went  round  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  parish,  to  call  up  the  people.  And  wherever 
hearers  could  be  collected  in  the  surrounding  country, 
within  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  thither  he  went  to  preach  to 
them  on  week-days,  though  he  seldom  got  home  before 
one  or  two  in  the  morning.  At  first,  the  rabble  of  his 
parishioners  resented  the  manner  in  which  he  ventured  to 
reprove  and  exhort  them  in  the  midst  of  their  lewd  revels 
and  riotous  meetings ;  for  he  would  frequently  burst  in 
upon  them,  without  any  fear  of  the  consequence  to  himself. 
The  publicans  and  maltmen  were  his  especial  enemies. 
A  mob  of  colliers,  who  were  one  day  baiting  a  bull,  de- 
termined to  pull  him  off  his  horse  as  he  went  to  preach, 
set  the  dogs  upon  him,  and,  in  their  own  phrase,  bait  the 
parson  ;  but  the  bull  broke  loose,  and  dispersed  them  be- 
fore he  arrived.  In  spite,  however,  of  the  opposition 
which  his  eccentricities  excited,  not  from  the  ignorant 
only,  but  from  some  of  the  neighboring  clergy  and  magis- 
trates, he  won  upon  the  people,  rude  and  brutal  as  they 
vy^ere,  by  the  invincible  benevolence  which  was  manifested 
in  his  whole  manner  of  life  ;  till  at  length  his  church,  which 
at  first  had  been  so  scantily  attended  that  he  was  dis- 

I* 


202 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


couraged  as  well  as  mortified  by  the  smallness  of  the  con- 
gregation, began  to  overflow. 

Such  was  the  person  who,  without  any  emolument,  had 
undertaken  the  charge  of  superintending,  in  occasional 
visits,  the  college  at  Trevecca,  and  who  withdrew  from 
that  charge  when  Lady  Huntingdon  called  upon  all  per- 
sons in  that  seminary  to  disavow  the  doctrines  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's minutes,  or  leave  the  place.  He  had  at  that  time  no 
intention  or  apprehension  of  taking  any  further  part  in  the 
dispute.  Shortly  afterward  the  Honorable  Walter  Shirley, 
one  of  her  ladyship's  chaplains,  and  of  the  Calvinistic  cler- 
gy who  had  formed  a  party  under  her  patronage,  sent 
forth  a  circular  letter,  stating,  that  whereas  Mr.  Wesley's 
next  Conference  was  to  be  held  at  Bristol,  it  was  proposed 
by  Lady  Huntingdon,  and  many  other  Christian  friends, 
to  have  a  meeting  in  that  city  at  the  same  time,  of  such 
pnncipal  persons,  both  clergy  and  laity,  who  disapproved 
of  the  obnoxious  minutes  ;  and  as  the  doctrines  therein 
avowed  were  thought  injurious  to  the  very  fundamental 
principles  of  Christianity,  it  was  further  proposed,  that 
these  persons  should  go  in  a  body  to  the  Conference,  and 
insist  upon  a  formal  recantation  of  the  said  minutes  ;  and 
in  case  of  a  refusal,  sign  and  publish  their  protest  against 
them.  "Your  presence,  sir,"  the  letter  proceeded,  "is 
particularly  requested  ;  but  if  it  should  not  suit  your  con- 
venience to  be  there,  it  is  desired  that  you  will  transmit 
your  sentiments  on  the  subject  to  such  person  as  you  think 
proper  to  produce  them.  It  is  submitted  to  you,  whether 
it  would  not  be  right,  in  the  opposition  to  be  made  to  such 
a  dreadful  heresy,  to  recommend  it  to  as  many  of  your 
Christian  friends,  as  well  of  the  Dissenters  as  of  the 
Established  Church,  as  you  can  prevail  on  to  be  there,  the 
cause  being  of  so  public  a  nature."  Lodgings  were  to  be 
provided  for  the  persons  who  attended.* 

The  proceedings  were  not  so  furious  as  might  have  been 
expected  from  a  declaration  of  war  like  this.  The  heat  of 
the  Calvinistic  party  seemed  to  have  spent  itself  in  the 
first  explosion.  Mr.  Wesley  was  truly  a  man  of  peace ; 
and  when  the  Conference  and  the  anti-council  met,  the 
result,  unlike  that  of  most  other  pitched  disputations  upon 
points  of  theology,  was  something  like  an  accommodation. 
The  meeting  was  managed  with  perfect  temper  on  both 
eides,  and  with  a  conciliatory  spirit  on  the  part  of  Shirley 
*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXV. — Am.  Ed.'\ 


WESLEY  A\D  THE  CALVINISTS. 


S03 


himself ;  a  man  whose  intentions  were  better  than  his  judg- 
ment. Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Conference  declared,  that,  in 
framing  the  obnoxious  minutes,  no  such  meaning  was  in- 
tended as  was  imputed  to  them.  "  We  abhor,"  they  said, 
"  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  works,  as  a  most  perilous 
and  abominable  doctrine ;  and  as  the  minutes  are  not 
sufficiently  guarded  in  the  way  they  are  expressed,  we 
hereby  solemnly  declare,  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  we  have 
no  trust  or  confidence  but  in  the  alone  merits  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  for  justification  or  salvation,  either  in  life, 
death,  or  the  day  of  judgment ;  and  though  no  one  is  a 
real  Christian  believer  (and  consequently  can  not  be  saved) 
who  doth  not  good  works,  where  there  is  time  and  oppor- 
tunity, yet  our  works  have  no  part  in  meriting  or  purchasing 
our  justification,  either  in  whole  or  in  part."  Mr.  Shirley 
declared  himself  satisfied  with  this  declaration,  and  the  in- 
terview was  concluded  with  prayer,  and  professions  of 
peace  and  love. 

These  were  but  fallacious  appearances  :  the  old  question 
had  been  mooted,  and  the  dispute  broke  out  with  greater 
violence  than  ever.*  On  the  part  of  the  Arminians  it  was 
carried  on  by  Walter  Sellon,  who  was  originally  a  baker, 
then  one  of  Wesley's  lay  preachers,  and  had  afterward,  by 
means  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  influence,  obtained  orders; 
by  Thomas  Olivers,  who,  like  a  sturdy  and  honest  Welsh- 
man as  he  was,  refused,  at  the  Conference,  to  subscribe  the 
declaration  ;  and  by  Mr.  Fletcher.  On  the  part  of  the  Cal- 
vinists,  the  most  conspicuous  writers  were  the  brothers 
Richard  (afterward  Sir  Richard)  and  Rowland  Hill,  and 
Augustus  Montague  Toplady,  vicar  of  Broad  Hembury,  in 
Devonshire.  Never  were  any  writings  more  thoroughly 
saturated  with  the  essential  acid  of  Calvinism  than  those 
of  the  predestinarian  champions.  It  would  scarcely  be 
credible  that  three  persons,  of  good  birth  and  education, 
and  of  unquestionable  goodness  and  piety,  should  have  car- 
ried on  controversy  in  so  vile  a  manner,  and  with  so  detest- 
able a  spirit, — if  the  hatred  of  theologians  had  not,  unhap- 

*  The  sort  of  recantation  which  was  made  in  this  declaration  gave 
occasion  to  the  following  verses  by  one  of  the  hostile  party : 

Whereas  the  religion  and  fate  of  three  nations 

Depend  on  the  importance  of  our  conversations  ; 

WTiereas  some  objections  are  thrown  in  our  way, 

And  words  have  been  construed  to  mean  what  they  say  ; 

Be  it  known,  from  henceforth,  to  each  friend  and  each  brother, 

Whene'er  we  say  one  thing,  we  mean  quite  another. 


204 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


pily,  become  proverbial.  Bemdge  of  Everton*  also,  who 
was  buffoon  as  well  as  fanatic,  engrao^ed  on  their  side :  and 
even  Harvey's  nature  was  so  far  soured  by  his  opinions, 
that  he  wrote  in  an  acrimonious  style  against  Mr.  Wesley, 
whose  real  piety  he  knew,  and  whom  he  had  once  regard- 
ed as  his  spiritual  father. 

The  ever  memorable  Toplady,  as  his  admirers  call  him, 
and  who,  they  say,  "stands  paramount  in  the  plenitude 
of  dignity  above  most  of  his  cotemporaries,"  was  bred  at 
Westminster,  and,  according  to  his  own  account,  converted 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  by  the  sermon  of  an  ignorant  lay 
preacher,  in  a  barn  in  Ireland.  He  was  an  injudicious 
man,  hasty  in  forming  conclusions,  and  intemperate  in  ad- 
vancing them  :  but  his  intellect  was  quick  and  lively,  and 
his  manner  of  writing,  though  coarse,  was  always  vigorous, 
and  sometimes  fortunate.  A  little  before  that  Conference 
which  brought  out  the  whole  Calvinistic  force  against  Wes- 
ley, Mr.  Toplady  published  a  Treatise  upon  absolute  Pre- 
destination, chiefly  translated  from  the  Latin  of  Zanchius. 
Mr.  Wesley  set  forth  an  analysis  of  this  treatise,  for  the 
purpose  of  exposing  its  monstrous  doctrine,  and  concluded 
in  these  words  :  *'  The  sum  of  all  this  :— One  in  twenty 
(suppose)  of  mankind  are  elected ;  nineteen  in  twenty  are 
reprobated.  The  elect  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they  will ; 
the  reprobate  shall  be  damned,  do  what  they  can.  Read- 
er, believe  this,  or  be  damned.    Witness  my  hand,  A  

T  ."t    Toplady  denied  the  consequences,  and  accused 

Mr.  Wesley  of  intending  to  palm  the  paragraph  on  the 
world  as  his.  "  In  almost  any  other  case,"  said  he,  "  a 
similar  forgery  would  transmit  the  criminal  to  Virginia  or 
Maryland,  if  not  to  Tyburn.  The  satanic  guilt  of  the  per- 
son who  could  excogitate  and  publish  to  the  world  a  posi- 
tion like  that,  baffles  all  power  of  description,  and  is  only 
to  be  exceeded  (if  exceedable)  by  the  satanic  shameless- 
ness  which  dares  to  lay  the  black  position  at  the  door  of 
other  men." 

Most  certainly  Mr.  Wesley  had  no  intention  that  this 
passage  should  pass  for  Mr.  Toplady's  writing.  He  gave 
it  as  the  sum  of  his  doctrine;  and,  stripping  that  doctrine 
of  all  disguise,  exposed  it  thus  in  its  naked  monstrosity. 
After  vindicating  himself  by  stating  this,  he  left  Ohvers  to 
carry  on  the  contest  with  his  incensed  antagonist.  Thia 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXVI.— ^wi,  Ed.'] 
t  fSee  Appendix,  Note  XXVIL— ^m.  Ed.} 


WESLEY   AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


205 


provoked  Toplady  the  more.  "  Let  Mr.  Wesley,"  said  he, 
"  fight  his  own  battles.  I  am  as  ready  as  ever  to  meet 
him,  with  the  sling  of  reason  and  the  stone  of  God's  word 
in  my  hand.  But  let  him  not  fight  by  proxy ;  let  his  cob- 
blers keep  to  their  stalls  ;  let  his  tinkers  mend  their  brazen 
vessels ;  let  his  barbers  confine  themselves  to  their  blocks 
and  basins ;  let  his  blacksmiths  blow  more  suitable  coals 
than  those  of  nice  controversy;  every  man  in  his  own 
order."  And,  because  Olivers  had  been  a  shoemaker,  he 
attacked  him  on  that  score  with  abusive  ridicule,  both  in 
prose  and  in  rhyme.*  But  when  he  spoke  of  Wesley  him- 
self, and  Wesley's  doctrines,  it  was  with  a  bitterer  temper. 
The  very  titles  which  he  affixed  to  his  writings  were  in  the 
manner  of  Martin  Marprelate, — "  More  Work  for  Mr.  John 
Wesley  ;" — "  An  Old  Fox  tarred  and  feathered  :"  it  seem- 
ed as  if  he  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  sectarian  scurrility  from 
the  truculent  libelers  of  the  puritanical  age,  with  whom 
he  sympathized  almost  as  much  in  opinions  as  in  temper. 

♦  He  makes  Wesley  speak  of  him  thus,  in  a  doggerel  dialogue : 

I've  Thomas  Oliver,  the  cobler, 

(No  stall  in  England  holds  a  nobler,) 

A  wight  of  talents  universal, 

Whereof  I'll  give  a  brief  rehearsal : 

He  wields,  beyond  most  other  men, 

His  awl,  his  razor,  and  his  pen ; 

My  beard  he  shaves,  repairs  my  shoe, 

And  writes  my  panegyric  too  ; 

He,  with  one  brandish  of  his  quill. 

Can  knock  down  Toplady  and  Hill ; 

With  equal  ease,  whene'er  there's  need, 

Can  darn  my  stockings  and  my  creed  ; 

Can  drive  a  nail,  or  ply  the  needle. 

Hem  handkerchief,  and  scrape  the  fiddle  ! 

Chop  logic  as  an  ass  chews  thistle. 

More  skillfully  than  you  can  whistle  ; 

And  then,  when  he  philosophizes. 

No  son  of  Crispin  half  so  wise  is. 

Of  all  my  ragged  regiment. 

This  cobler  gives  me  most  content : 

My  forgeries  and  faith's  defender, 

My  barber,  champion,  and  shoe-mender. 

In  private,  however,  Toplady  did  justice  to  this  antagonist.  After  a 
chance  interview  with  him,  which,  for  its  good-humor,  was  creditable 
to  both  parties,  he  says,  to  a  correspondent,  "  To  say  the  truth,  I  am 
glad  I  saw  Mr.  Olivers,  for  he  appears  to  be  a  person  of  stronofer  sense, 
and  better  behavior,  than  I  imagined.  Had  his  understanding  been 
cultivated  by  a  liberal  education,  I  believe  he  would  have  made  some 
figure  in  life."  I  have  never  seen  Oliver's  pamphlet,  but  he  had  the 
right  side  of  the  argument ;  and  if  he  had  not  maintained  his  cause 
with  respectable  ability,  his  treatise  would  not  have  been  sanctioned 
(on  such  an  occasion)  by  Wesley,  and  praised  by  Fletcher. 


206" 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


Blunders  and  blasphemies,  he  said,  were  two  species  of 
commodities  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  driven  a  larger 
traffic  than  any  other  blunder-merchant  this  country  had 
produced.  Considered  as  a  reasoner,  he  called  him  one  of 
the  most  contemptible  writers  that  ever  set  pen  to  paper. 
And,  "  abstracted  from  all  warmth,  and  from  all  prejudices," 
says  he,  "  I  believe  him  to  be  the  most  rancorous  hater  of 
the  Gospel  system  that  ever  appeared  in  this  island."  The 
same  degree  of  coolness  and  impartiality  appeared  when 
he  spoke  of  the  doctrines  which  he  opposed.  He  insist- 
ed that  Socinus  and  Arminius  were  the  two  necessary 
supporters  of  a  free-willer's  coat-of-arms  ;  "  for,"  said  he, 
in  his  vigorous  manner,  "  Arminianism  is  the  head,  and 
Socinianism  the  tail,  of  one  and  the  self-same  serpent ;  and, 
when  the  head  works  itself  in,  it  will  soon  draw  the  tail 
after  it."  A  tract  of  Wesley's,  in  which  the  fatal  doctrine 
of  Necessity  is  controverted  and  exposed,  he  calls  "  the 
famous  Moorfields  powder,  whose  chief  ingredients  are  an 
equal  portion  of  gross  Heathenism,  Pelagianism,  Mohara- 
medism,  Popery,  Manichaeism,  Ranterism,  and  Antino- 
mianism,  culled,  dried,  and  pulverized,  and  mingled  with 
as  much  palpable  Atheism  as  you  can  scrape  together." 
And  he  asserted,  and  attempted  to  prove,  that  Arminian- 
ism and  Atheism  came  to  the  same  thing.  A  more  unfair 
reasoner  has  seldom  entered  the  lists  of  theological  contro- 
versy ;  and  yet  he  was  not  so  uncharitable  as  his  writings, 
nor  by  any  means  so  bad  as  his  opinions  might  easily  have 
made  him.  He  much  questioned  whether  an  Arminian 
could  go  to  heaven  ;  and,  of  course,  must  have  supposed 
that  Wesley,  as  the  arch-Arminian  of  the  age,  bore  about 
him  the  stamp  of  reprobation.  Nevertheless,  in  one  of  his 
letters,  he  says,  "  God  is  witness  how  earnestly  I  wish  it 
may  consist  with  the  divine  will  to  touch  the  heart,  and 
open  the  eyes,  of  that  unhappy  man  !  I  hold  it  as  much 
my  duty  to  pray  for  his  conversion,  as  to  expose  the  futility 
of  his  railings  against  the  truths  of  the  Gospel."  And, 
upon  a  report  of  Wesley's  death,  he  would  have  stopped 
the  publication  of  one  of  his  bitter  diatribes,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  expunging  whatever  reflected  with  asperity  upon 
the  dead.  There  was  no  affectation  in  this  :  the  letters  in 
which  these  redeeming  feelings  appear,  were  not  intended, 
or  expected,  to  go  abroad  into  the  world.  The  wise  and 
gentle  Tillotson  has  observed,  that  we  shall  have  two  won- 
ders in  heaven  :  the  one,  how  many  come  to  be  absent, 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


207 


wnom  we  expected  to  find  there  ;  the  other,  how  many  are 
there,  whom  we  had  no  hope  of  meeting. 

Toplady  said  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  works,  that,  in  the  very 
few  pages  which  he  had  perused,  the  serious  passages  were 
dulhiess  double-condensed,  and  the  lighter  passages  impu- 
dence double-distilled :  "  so  hardened  was"  his  own  '*  front," 
to  use  one  of  his  own  expressions,  "  and  so  thoroughly  was 
he  drenched  in  the  petrifying  water  of  a  party."  If  ever 
true  Christian  charity  was  manifested  in  polemical  writing, 
it  was  by  Fletcher  of  Madely.  Even  theological  contro- 
versy never  in  the  slightest  degree  irritated  his  heavenly 
temper.  On  sending  the  manuscript  of  his  first  **  Check  to 
Antinomianism"  to  a  friend,  much  younger  than  himself, 
he  says,  "  1  beg,  as  upon  my  bended  knees,  you  would  re- 
vise and  correct  it,  and  take  off  quod  durius  sonat  in  point 
of  works ^  reproof,  and  style.  I  have  followed  my  light, 
which  is  but  that  of  smoking  flax ;  put  yours  to  mine.  I 
am  charged  hereabout  with  scattering  firebrands,  arrows, 
and  death.  Quench  some  of  my  brands  ;  blunt  some  of 
my  arrows ;  and  take  off*  all  my  deaths,  except  that  which 
I  design  for  Antinomianism."  "  For  the  sake  of  candor," 
he  says,  in  one  of  his  prefaces,  "  of  truth,  of  peace — for  the 
reader's  sake,  and,  above  all,  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and 
the  honor  of  Christianity,  whoever  ye  are  that  shall  next 
enter  the  lists  against  us,  do  not  wiredraw  the  controversy, 
by  uncharitably  attacking  our  persons,  and  absurdly  judg- 
ing our  spirits,  instead  of  weighing  our  arguments,  and 
considering  the  Scriptures  which  we  produce ;  nor  pass 
over  fifty  solid  reasons,  and  a  hundred  plain  passages,  to 
cavil  about  non-essentials,  and  to  lay  the  stress  of  your 
answer  upon  mistakes  which  do  not  affect  the  strength  of 
the  cause,  and  which  we  are  ready  to  correct  as  soon  as 
they  shall  be  pointed  out.  I  take  the  Searcher  of  Hearts, 
and  my  judicious,  unprejudiced  readers  to  witness,  that, 
through  the  whole  of  this  controversy,  far  from  concealing 
the  most  plausible  objections,  or  avoiding  the  strongest  ar- 
guments which  are  or  may  be  advanced  against  our  recon- 
ciling doctrine,  I  have  carefully  searched  them  out,  and  en- 
deavored to  encounter  them  as  openly  as  David  did  Goliath. 
Had  our  opponents  followed  this  method,  I  doubt  not  but 
the  controversy  would  have  ended,  long  ago,  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  prejudices,  and  in  the  rectifying  of  our  mistakes. 
Oh  !  if  we  preferred  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  finding 
out  the  truth,  to  the  pitiful  honor  of  pleasing  a  party,  or  of 


208 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


vindicating  our  own  mistakes,  how  soon  would  the  useful 
fan  of  scriptural,  logical,  and  brotherly  controversy  purge 
the  floor  of  the  Church  ! — how  soon  would  the  light  of 
truth,  and  the  flame  of  love,  burn  the  chaff"  of  error,  and 
the  thorns  of  prejudice,  with  fire  unquenchable  !" 

In  such  a  temper  did  this  saintly  man  address  himself 
to  the  work  of  controversy ;  and  he  carried  it  on  with  cor- 
respondent candor,  and  with  distinguished  ability.  His 
manner  is  diffuse,  and  the  florid  parts,  and  the  unction, 
betray  their  French  origin  ;  but  the  reasoning  is  acute  and 
clear ;  the  spirit  of  his  writings  is  beautiful,  and  he  was 
master  of  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings.  His  great  object 
was  to  conciliate  the  two  parties,  and  to  draw  the  line  be- 
tween the  solifidian  and  Pelagian  errors.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  composed  a  treatise,  which  he  called  an  "  Equal 
Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism ;  or.  Scripture 
Scales  to  weigh  the  Gold  of  Gospel  Truth,  and  to  balance 
a  Multitude  of  opposite  Scriptures."  Herein  he  brought 
together,  side  by  side,  the  opposite  texts,  and  showed  how 
they  qualified  each  other  :  the  opinion  which  he  inferred 
seems  to  correspond  more  nearly  with  that  of  Baxter  than 
of  any  other  divine.  He  traced,  historically,  the  growth 
of  both  the  extremes  against  which  he  contended.  Luther, 
being  an  Augustinian  monk,  brought  with  him,  from  his 
convent,  the  favorite  opinions  of  Augustin,  to  which  he 
became  the  more  attached,  because  of  the  value  which  the 
Romanists  affixed  to  their  superstitious  works,  and  the 
fooleries  and  abominations  which  had  sprung  from  this 
cause.*  Most  of  the  Reformers,  and  more  especially 
Calvin,  took  the  same  ground.  The  Jesuits,  seeing  their 
error,  inclined  the  Romish  Church  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme ;  and  after  a  while,  Jansenius  formed  a  Cahdnistic 
party  among  the  Catholics,  while  Arrainius  tempered  the 
doctrine  of  the  reformed  churches.  Antinomianism  was 
the  legitimate  consequence  on  the  one  part,  and  Mr. 
Fletcher  thought  that  the  English  clergy  were  tending 
toward  Pelagianism  on  the  other.  His  great  object  was 
to  trim  the  balance,  and  above  all,  to  promote  Christian 
charity  and  Christian  union.    "  My  regard  for  unity,"  said 

*  Thus  the  old  author  of  Neonomianism  Unmasked,  places  "  the  Cal- 
vinian  Society  in  Gracious-street,  at  the  sign  of  the  Geneva  Arms,  just 
opposite  to  the  sign  of  Cardinal  Bellarmine's  Head,  at  the  foot  of  the 
bridge  that  crosses  Reformation  River,  that  divides  between  the  Prot- 
estant and  Popish  cantons." 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


209 


he,  "  recovers  my  drooping  spirits,  and  adds  new  strength 
to  my  wasted  body  (he  was  believed,  at  that  time,  to  be 
in  the  last  stage  of  a  consumption) ;  I  stop  at  the  brink  of 
the  grave,  over  which  I  bend ;  and  as  the  blood  oozing 
from  my  decayed  lungs  does  not  permit  me  vocally  to  ad- 
dress my  contending  brethren,  by  means  of  my  pen  I 
will  ask  them,  if  they  can  properly  receive  the  holy  com- 
munion,  while  they  willfully  remain  in  disunion  with  their 
brethren,  from  whom  controversy  has  needlessly  parted 
them!"  He  was  then  about  to  leave  England,  for  what 
appeared  to  be  a  forlorn  hope  of  deriving  benefit  from  his 
native  air ;  but,  before  his  departure,  he  expressed  a  de- 
sire of  seeing  those  persons  with  whom  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  this  controversy,  that,  "  all  doctrinal  differences 
apart,  he  might  testify  his  sincere  regret  for  having  given 
them  the  least  displeasure,  and  receive  from  them  some 
condescending  assurance  of  reconciliation  and  good-will. 
All  of  them  had  not  generosity  enough  to  accept  the  invi- 
tation :  they  who  did,  were  edified,  as  well  as  affected,  by 
the  interview;  and  some  of  them,  who  had  had  no  person- 
al acquaintance  with  him  before,  "  expressed  the  highest 
satisfaction,"  says  his  biographer,  "  at  being  introduced  to 
the  company  of  one  whose  air  and  countenance  bespoke 
him  fitted  rather  for  the  society  of  angels  than  the  con- 
versation of  men."  Upon  the  score  of  controversial  of- 
fenses, few  men  have  ever  had  so  little  need  to  ask 
forgiveness. 

When  Mr.  Fletcher  offended  his  antagonists,  it  was  not 
by  any  personalities,  or  the  slightest  breathing  of  a  malicious 
spirit,  but  by  the  ironical  manner  in  which  he  displayed 
the  real  nature  of  their  monstrous  doctrine.  For  his  tal- 
ents were  of  the  quick,  mercurial  kind  ;  his  fancy  was 
always  active,  and  he  might  have  held  no  inconsiderable 
rank,  both  as  a  humorous  and  as  an  impassioned  writer,  if 
he  had  not  confined  himself  wholly  to  devotional  subjects. 
But  his  happy  illustrations  had  the  effect  of  provoking  his 
opponents.*  Mr.  Wesley  also,  by  the  unanswerable  man- 
ner in  which  he  treated  the  Calvinistic  question,  drew  upon 
himself  the  fierce  resentment  of  a  host  of  enemies.  They 
were  confounded  ;  but  they  would  not  be  convinced  ;  and 
they  assailed  him  with  a  degree  of  rancorous  hatred,  which, 
even  in  theological  controvei'sy,  has  never  been  exceeded. 
**  He  was  as  weak  as  he  was  vicious,"  they  said  :  *'  he  was 
♦  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXVIII.— 4m.  Ed.} 


510 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


like  a  monkey,  an  eel,  or  a  squirrel,  perpetually  twisting 
and  twining  all  manner  of  ways.  There  was  little  prob- 
ity, or  common  honesty,  discoverable  in  that  man — that 
Arrainian  priest :  he  was  incapable  of  appreciating  real 
merit ;  and  his  blasphemous  productions  were  horror  to  the 
soul,  and  torture  to  the  ear.  And  for  his  doctrine — the 
cursed  doctrine  of  free-will,  it  was  the  most  God-dishonor- 
ing and  soul-distressing  doctrine  of  the  day ;  it  was  one  of 
the  prominent  features  of  the  Beast ;  it  was  the  enemy  of 
God,  and  the  offspring  of  the  wicked  one ;  the  insolent 
brat  of  hell.  Arminianism  was  the  spiritual  pestilence 
which  had  given  the  Protestant  churches  the  plague  :  like 
a  mortal  scorpion,  it  carries  a  sting  in  its  tail,  that  affects 
with  stupefaction,  insensibility,  and  death,  all  whom  it 
strikes."* 

The  unforgivable  offense  which  drew  upon  Wesley  and 
his  doctrine  this  sort  of  obloquy,  with  which  volumes  have 
been  filled,  was  the  sermon  upon  Free  Grace,  that  had 
been  the  occasion  of  the  breach  with  Whitefield.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  able  and  eloquent  of  all  his  discourses ;  a  tri- 
umphant specimen  of  impassioned  argument.  Call  it  by 
whatever  name  you  please,"  said  he,  attacking  the  Calvin- 
istic  doctrine,  "  Election,  Pretention,  Predestination,  or 
Reprobation,  it  comes  to  the  same  thing.  The  sense  is 
plainly  this  :  By  virtue  of  an  eternal,  unchangeable,  irre- 
-sistible  decree  of  God,  one  part  of  mankind  are  infallibly 
saved,  and  the  rest  infallibly  damned;  it  being  impossible 
that  any  of  the  former  should  be  damned,  or  that  any  of  the 
latter  should  be  saved."  He  proceeded  to  show,  that  it 
made  all  preaching  vain,f  as  needless  to  the  elect,  and  use- 
less to  the  reprobate  ;  and  therefore  that  it  could  not  be  a 
doctrine  of  God,  because  it  makes  void  his  ordinance  :  that 
it  tended  to  produce  spiritual  pride  in  some,  absolute  de- 
spair in  others,  and  to  destroy  our  zeal  for  good  works  : 
that  it  made  revelation  contradictory  and  useless  ;  and  that 
it  was  full  of  blasphemy, — "  of  such  blasphemy,"  said  he, 
as  I  should  dread  to  mention,  but  that  the  honor  of  our 

*  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXIX.— ^w.  Ed.] 

\  But  why  so  ?  If  the  end  be  necessary,  must  not  the  means  be  so 
likewise  ?  Does  God  think  by  abstractions,  generalizations,  and  logic- 
al antitheses,  as  we  do  ?  (Yet  even  we,  not  conclusively — except  where 
we  have  taken  the  mechanism  of  our  finite  understanding  \<pp6vri^a 
aapKo^)  as  our  master,  instead  of  using  it  as  our  instrument.)  In  the 
eye  of  God,  are  not  all  things  means,  in  relation  to  himself,  and  all 
things  ends,  relatively  to  the  agent  and  creature? — S.  T.  C. 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


211 


gracious  God,  and  the  cause  of  truth  will  not  suffer  me  to 
be  silent.  In  the  cause  of  God,"  he  pursues,  "  and  from  a 
sincere  concern  for  the  glory  of  his  great  name,  I  will 
mention  a  few  of  the  horrible  blasphemies  contained  in 
this  horrible  doctrine.  But  first  I  must  warn  every  one  of 
you  that  hears,  as  ye  will  answer  it  at  the  great  day,  not 
to  charge  me,  as  some  have  done,  with  blaspheming, 
because  I  mention  the  blasphemy  of  others.  And  the 
more  you  are  grieved  with  them  that  do  thus  blaspheme, 
see  that  ye  *  confirm  your  love  toward  them'  the  more,  and 
that  your  heart's  desire,  and  continual  prayer  to  God,  be, 
'  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do !' 

"  This  premised,  let  it  be  observed,  that  this  doctrine 
represents  our  blessed  Lord,  *  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous, 
the  only  begotten  son  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth,'  as  a  hypocrite,  a  deceiver  of  the  people,  a  man 
void  of  common  sincerity.  For  it  can  not  be  denied  that 
he  everywhere  speaks  as  if  he  were  willing  that  all  men 
should  be  saved  ;  therefore,  to  say  he  was  not  willing  that 
all  men  should  be  saved,  is  to  represent  him  as  a  mere 
hypocrite  and  dissembler.  It  can  not  be  denied,  that  the 
gracious  words  which  came  out  of  his  mouth  are  full  of 
invitations  to  all  sinners :  to  say,  then,  He  did  not  intend 
to  save  all  sinners,  is  to  represent  him  as  a  gross  deceiver 
of  the  people.  You  can  not  deny  that  he  says,  *  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy  laden !'  If,  then,  you 
say  He  calls  those  that  can  not  come,  those  whom  he  knows 
to  be  unable  to  come,  those  whom  he  can  make  able  to 
come,  but  will  not,  how  is  it  possible  to  describe  greater 
insincerity  1  You  represent  him  as  mocking  his  helpless 
creatures,  by  offering  what  he  never  intends  to  give.  You 
describe  him  as  saying  one  thing  and  meaning  another ; 
as  pretending  the  love  which  he  had  not.  Him,  in  whose 
mouth  was  no  guile,  you  make  full  of  deceit,  void  of  com- 
mon sincerity  :  then,  especially  when  drawing  nigh  the 
city,  he  wept  over  it,  and  said,  *  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 
thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  that  are 
sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  chil- 
dren together,  and  ye  would  not !'  [7]diXr]Ga  Kai  ovk 
7j6e?^rjaaTe.)  Now,  if  you  say  they  would,  but  he  would 
not,  you  represent  him  (which  who  could  hear!)  as  weep- 
ing crocodile  tears  over  the  prey  which  he  had  doomed 
to  destruction  ! 

"  Such  blasphemy  this,  as,  one  would  think,  might  mak© 


212 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


the  ears  of  a  Christian  to  tingle !  But  there  is  yet  more 
behind ;  for  just  as  it  honors  the  Son,  so  doth  this  doc- 
trine honor  the  Father.  It  destroys  all  his  attributes  at 
once  :  it  overturns  both  his  justice,  mercy,  and  truth.  Yes, 
it  represents  the  Most  Holy  God  as  worse  than  the  devil ; 
as  more  false,  more  cruel,  and  more  unjust.  More  false, 
because  the  devil,  liar  as  he  is,  hath  never  said  he  willeth 
all  mankind  to  be  saved  :  more  unjust,  because  the  devil 
can  not,  if  he  would,  be  guilty  of  such  injustice  as  you 
ascribe  to  God,  when  you  say,  that  God  condemned  mil- 
lions of  souls  to  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels,  for  continuing  in  sin,  which,  for  want  of  that 
that  grace  he  will  not  give  them,  they  can  not  avoid  :  and 
more  cruel,  because  that  unhappy  spirit  *  seeketh  rest,  and 
findeth  none,'  so  that  his  own  restless  misery  is  a  kind  of 
temptation  to  him  to  tempt  others.  But  God  *  resteth  in 
his  high  and  holy  place  so  that  to  suppose  him,  out  of 
his  mere  motion,  of  his  pure  will  and  pleasure,  happy  as 
he  is,  to  doom  his  creatures,  whether  they  will  or  not,  to 
endless  misery,  is  to  impute  such  cruelty  to  him,  as  we 
can  not  impute  even  to  the  great  enemy  of  God  and  man. 
It  is  to  represent  the  Most  High  God  (he  that  hath  ears 
to  hear,  let  him  hear!)  as  more  cruel,  false,  and  unjust 
than  the  devil ! 

**  This  is  the  blasphemy  clearly  contained  in  the  horrible 
decree  of  Predestination.  And  here  I  fix  my  foot.  On 
this  I  join  issue  with  every  assertor  of  it.  You  represent 
God  as  worse  than  the  devil ;  more  false,  more  cruel,  more 
unjust.  But  you  say  you  will  prove  it  by  Scripture.  Hold! 
What  will  you  prove  by  Scripture  ]  that  God  is  worse  than 
the  devil  ]  It  can  not  be.  Whatever  that  Scripture  proves, 
it  never  proves  this :  whatever  be  its  true  meaning,  it  can 
not  mean  this.  Do  you  ask  what  is  its  true  meaning,  then  ] 
If  I  say,  I  know  not,  you  have  gained  nothing ;  for  there 
are  many  Scriptures,  the  true  sense  whereof  neither  you 
nor  I  shall  know,  till  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
But  this  I  know,  better  it  were  to  say  it  had  no  sense  at  all, 
than  to  say  it  had  such  a  sense  as  this.  It  can  not  mean, 
whatever  it  mean  beside,  that  the  God  of  truth  is  a  liar. 
Let  it  mean  what  it  will,  it  can  not  mean  that  the  Judge 
of  all  the  world  is  unjust.  No  Scripture  can  mean  that 
God  is  not  love,  or  that  his  mercy  is  not  over  all  his  works  : 
that  is,  whatever  it  prove  beside,  no  Scripture  can  prove 
Predestination. 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


213 


**  This  is  the  blasphemy  for  which  I  abhor  the  doctrine 
of*  Predestination  ;  a  doctrine,  upon  the  supposition  of 
which,  if  one  could  possibly  suppose  it  for  a  moment, — 
call  it  election,  reprobation,  or  what  you  please  (for  all 
comes  to  the  same  thing), — one  might  say  to  our  adversary 
the  devil,  *  Thou  fool,  why  dost  thou  roar  about  any  longer  1 
Thy  lying  in  wait  for  souls  is  as  needless  and  useless  as 
our  preaching.  Hearest  thou  not,  that  God  hath  taken  thy 
work  out  of  thy  hands,  and  that  he  doth  it  more  effectually  ] 
Thou,  with  all  thy  principalities  and  powers,  canst  only  so 
assault  that  we  may  resist  thee  ;  but  He  can  irresistibly  de- 
stroy both  body  and  soul  in  hell !  Thou  canst  only  entice  ; 
but  His  unchangeable  decree,  to  leave  thousands  of  souls 
in  death,  compels  them  to  continue  in  sin  till  they  drop  into 
everlasting  burnings.  Thou  temptest ;  He  forceth  us  to 
be  damned,  for  we  can  not  resist  his  will.  Thou  fool !  why 
goest  thou  about  any  longer,  seeking  whom  thou  mayest 
devour  1  Hearest  thou  not  that  God  is  the  devouring  lion, 
the  destroyer  of  souls,  the  murderer  of  men  1  Moloch 
caused  only  children  to  pass  through  the  fire,  and  that  fire 
was  soon  quenched  ;  or,  the  corruptible  body  being  con- 
sumed, its  torments  were  at  an  end  ;  but  God,  thou  art  told, 
by  his  eternal  decree,  fixed  before  they  had  done  good  or 
evil,  causes  not  only  children  of  a  span  long,  but  the  parents 
also,  to  pass  through  the  fire  of  hell;  that  fire  which  never 
shall  be  quenched  :  and  the  body  which  is  cast  thereinto, 
being  now  incorruptible  and  immortal,  will  be  ever  con- 
suming and  never  consumed  ;  but  the  smoke  of  their  tor- 
ment, because  it  is  God's  good  pleasure,  ascendeth  up  for- 
ever.' 

"Oh,  how  would  the  enemy  of  God  and  man  rejoice  to 
hear  these  things  were  so  !  How  would  he  cry  aloud,  and 
spare  not !  How  would  he  lift  up  his  voice,  and  say,  To 
your  tents,  O  Israel !  Flee  from  the  face  of  this  God,  or 
ye  shall  utterly  perish.  But  whither  will  ye  flee  ]  Into 
heaven  ]  He  is  there.  Down  to  hell  ]  He  is  there  also. 
Ye  can  not  flee  from  an  omnipresent,  almighty  tyrant. 
And  whether  ye  flee  or  stay,  I  call  Heaven,  his  throne,  and 
Earth,  his  footstool,  to  witness  against  you  :  ye  shall  perish, 
ye  shall  die  eternally  !  Sing,  O  Hell,  and  rejoice  ye  that 
are  under  the  earth  !  for  God,  even  the  mighty  God,  hath 
spoken,  and  devoted  to  death  thousands  of  souls,  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun,  unto  the  going  down  thereof.    Here,  O 


214 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


Death,  is  thy  sting  !  They  shall  not,  can  not  escape,  for 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.  Here,  O  Grave,  is 
thy  victory  !  Nations  yet  unborn,  or  ever  they  have  done 
good  or  evil,  are  doomed  never  to  see  the  light  of  life ;  but 
thou  shalt  gnaw  upon  them  forever  and  ever.  Let  all  those 
morning  stars  sing  together,  who  fell  with  Lucifer,  son  of 
the  morning  !  Let  all  the  sons  of  hell  shout  for  joy  ;  for 
the  decree  is  passed,  and  who  shall  annul  it  ] 

"  Yes  !  the  decree  is  passed  ;  and  so  it  was  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  But  what  decree  1  Even  this  : 
*  I  will  set  before  the  sons  of  men  life  and  death,  blessing 
and  cursing;'  and  'the  soul  that  chooseth  life  shall  live, 
as  the  soul  that  chooseth  death  shall  die.'  This  decree, 
whereby  whom  God  '  did  foreknow,  he  did  predestinate,' 
was  indeed  from  everlasting  :  this,  whereby  all  who  suffer 
Christ  to  make  them  alive,  are  '  elect  according  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  God,'  now  standeth  fast,  even  as  the  moon, 
and  the  faithful  witness  in  heaven  ;  and  when  heaven  and 
earth  shall  pass  away,  yet  this  shall  not  pass  away,  for  it  is 
as  unchangeable  and  eternal  as  the  being  of  God  that  gave 
it.  This  decree  yields  the  strongest  encouragement  to 
abound  in  all  good  works,  and  in  all  holiness  ;  and  it  is  a 
well-spring  of  joy,  of  happiness  also,  to  our  great  and  end- 
less comfort.  This  is  worthy  of  God.  It  is  every  way 
consistent  with  the  perfection  of  his  nature.  It  gives  us 
the  noblest  view  both  of  his  justice,  mercy,  and  truth.  To 
this  agrees  the  whole  scope  of  the  Chiistian  Revelation,  as 
weH  as  all  the  parts  thereof.  To  this  Moses  and  all  the 
prophets  bear  witness  ;  and  our  blessed  Lord,  and  all  his 
apostles.  Thus  Moses,  in  the  name  of  his  Lord,  '  I  call 
heaven  and  earth  to  record  against  you  this  day,  that  I  have 
set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing  and  cursing :  there- 
fore choose  life,  that  thou  and  thy  seed  may  live.'  Thus 
Ezekiel  (to  cite  one  prophet  for  all)  :  *  The  soul  that  sin- 
neth,  it  shall  die  ;  the  son  shall  not  bear  (eternally)  the 
iniquity  of  the  father.  The  righteousness  of  the  righteous 
shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall 
be  upon  him.'  Thus  our  blessed  Lord:  *  If  any  man 
thirst,  let  him  come  to  me  and  drink  !'  Thus  his  great 
apostle  St.  Paul :  *  God  commandeth  all  men,  every wheie, 
to  repent.'  All  men,  evei-ywhei-e ;  every  man,  in  every 
place,  without  any  exception,  either  of  place  or  person. 
Thus  St.  James  :  *  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


215 


of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth 
not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him!'  Thus  St.  Peter:  'The 
Lord  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance.'  And  thus  St.  John  :  '  If  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father  ;  and  he  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world.' 

"  O  hear  ye  this,  ye  that  forget  God  !  ye  can  not  charge 
your  death  upon  him.  *  Have  1  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the 
wicked  should  die  ]  saith  the  Lord  God.  Repent,  and 
turn  from  your  transgressions,  so  iniquity  shall  not  be  your 
ruin.  Cast  away  from  you  all  your  transgressions,  where- 
by ye  have  transgressed ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of 
Israeli  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that 
dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God.  Wherefore,  turn  yourselves,  and 
live  ye.' — '  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleas- 
ure in  the  death  of  the  wicked.  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from 
your  evil  ways  ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ]'  "* 

A  history  of  Wesley's  life  would  be  imperfect,  unless  it 
contained  this  memorable  passage, — the  most  remarkable 
and  the  most  powerful  in  all  his  works.  It  exasperated 
beyond  measure  those  who,  in  their  own  conceit,  had  taken 
out  their  patent  of  election,  and  considered  themselves,  in 
Mr.  Toplady's  language  (himself  one  of  the  number),  as 
**  kingsf  incog.,  traveling,  disguised  like  pilgrims,  to  their 
dominions  above."  Even  temperate  Calvinists  were  shock- 
ed, and  have  said,  that  Mr.  Wesley's  "  horrid  appeal  to  all 
the  devils  in  hell  gave  a  sort  of  infernal  tone  to  the  con- 

♦  The  preceding  page  is  truly  excellent ;  but  still  it  does  not  lay  the 
ax  to  the  root  of  the  mischief.  Still  the  Predestinarian  will  urge — Is 
God's  knowledge  and  prescience  confined  to  abstract  positions  ? — to 
words  and  generalized  synopses,  blind  to  the  individual  realities  from 
which  they  were  generalized  ?  I  am  convinced  that  the  only  effective 
way  of  dealing  with  the  Predestinarians  is  that  which  I  have  stated  in 
the  "  Aids  to  Reflection,"  and  still  more  precisely  and  perspicuously  in 
a  MS.  note  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  work,  (viz.)  by  demonstrating  the 
inherent  unreality  and  inconsequence  of  all  logic  and  all  logical  conclu- 
sion.—S.T.  C. 

+  The  expression,  however,  was  adopted  from  Timothy  Rogers,  in 
whose  Discourse  concerning  Trouble  of  Mind  and  the  Disease  of  Mel- 
ancholy, it  thus  occurs :  "  A  Christian  in  this  world  is  like  a  king  that 
travels  incognito  in  a  strange  land :  he  is  coarsely  treated  by  men  that 
do  not  know  the  greatness  of  his  birth  and  quality  ;  he  travels  but  in 
the  habit  of  a  pilgrim,  and  cloaked  with  heaviness,  and  hath  tears  for 
his  meat  and  drink."— P.  384. 


216 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


troversy."  It  is,  indeed,  in  a  tremendous  strain  of  elo- 
quence, and  shows  with  what  indignation  the  preacher,  in 
his  zeal  for  God,  and  in  his  love  for  his  fellow-creatures, 
regarded  a  doctrine  so  injurious  to  both.  In  an  evil  hour 
did  the  restless  mind  of  man  devise  for  itself  the  perilous 
question  of  fatalism  ;  and,  in  a  more  unhappy  one,  was  it 
introduced  into  Christian  theology.  The  Fathers  of  our 
Church  perceived  the  danger  on  both  sides,  and  endeavor- 
ed to  keep  the  golden  mean.  "  All  men,"  said  they,  "  be 
to  be  monished,  and  chiefly  preachers,  that,  in  this  high 
matter,  they,  looking  on  both  sides,  so  attemper  and  mod- 
erate themselves,  that  neither  they  so  preach  the  grace  of 
God,  that  they  take  away  thereby  free-will,  nor,  on  the 
other  side,  so  extol  free-will,  that  injury  be  done  to  the 
grace  of  God."  And  in  the  directions  for  preachers,  which 
were  set  forth  in  the  latter  years  of  James  I.,  it  was  enjoin- 
ed, **  that  no  preacher,  of  what  title  soever,  under  the  de- 
gree of  a  bishop,  or  dean  at  the  least,  should,  from  thence- 
forth, presume  to  preach,  in  any  popular  auditory,  deep 
points  of  predestination,  election,  reprobation,  or  of  the 
universality,  efficacy,  resistibility,  or  irresistibility  of  God's 
grace  ;  but  leave  those  themes  rather  to  be  handled  by 
learned  men,  and  that  moderately  and  modestly,  by  way 
of  use  and  application,  rather  than  by  way  of  positive  doc- 
trines, being  fitter  for  the  schools  than  for  simple  audito- 
ries." The  Puritans  exclaimed  against  this  prohibition, 
whereby,  they  said,  man  made  that  the  forbidden  fruit, 
which  God  appointed  for  the  tree  of  life.  But,  upon  this 
point,  even  the  popes  themselves,  in  the  plenitude  of  their 
power,  were  not  able  to  impose  silence. 

Wesley  had  once  a  whimsical  proof  of  the  horror  with 
which  the  high-flying  Calvinists  regarded  him.  One  after- 
noon, on  the  road  from  Newport  Pagnel  to  Northampton, 
"  I  overtook,"  says  he,  "  a  serious  man,  with  whom  I  im- 
mediately fell  into  conversation.  He  presently  gave  me  to 
know  what  his  opinions  were  ;  therefore  I  said  nothing  to 
contradict  them.  But  that  did  not  content  him  ;  he  was 
quite  uneasy  to  know  whether  I  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
decrees  as  he  did  :  but  I  told  him,  over  and  over,  we  had 
better  keep  to  practical  things,  lest  we  should  be  angry  at 
one  another.  And  so  we  did  for  two  miles,  till  he  caught 
me  unawares,  and  dragged  me  into  the  dispute  before  I 
knew  where  I  was.    He  then  grew  warmer  and  warmer, 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


217 


told  me  I  was  rotten  at  heart,  and  supposed  I  was  one  of 
John  Wesley's  followers.  I  told  him,  '  No,  I  am  John 
Wesley  himself!*    Upon  which, 

Jmprovisum  aspris  veluti  qui  sentibns  anguem 
Pressit, 

he  would  gladly  have  run  away  outright ;  but  being  the 
better  mounted  of  the  two,  I  kept  close  to  his  side,  and  en- 
deavored to  show  him  his  heart,  till  we  came  into  the  street 
of  Northampton." 
VOL.  II. — K. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors.— mr.  grimshaw.  —  dr. 

COKE.  THE   GREEK   BISHOP.  WESLEY's  CREDULITY'. 

A  FEW  years  before  this  final  and  irreparable  breach 
with  the  Calvinists,  Wesley  had  attempted  to  form  an  open 
and  active  union  between  all  such  clergymen  as  have  more 
recently  arrogated  to  themselves  the  appellation  of  Evan- 
gelical, or  Gospel  ministers.  With  this  hope  he  sent  round 
a  circular  letter,  to  some  fifty  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
England,  wherein  he  proposed  that,  leaving  free  disputa- 
ble points  of  predestination  on  one  side,  and  perfection  on 
the  other ;  laying  no  stress  upon  expressions,  and  binding 
themselves  to  no  peculiar  discipline  ;  but  some  remaining 
quite  regular,  others  quite  irregular ;  and  others,  again, 
partly  the  one  and  partly  the  other, — they  should  think  and 
speak  kindly  of  each  other,  form  as  it  were  a  defensive 
league,  and  each  help  the  other  on  in  his  work,  and  enlarge 
his  influence  by  all  rightful  means.  If  any  thing  more 
were  meant  by  this  than  that  each  should  occasionally  ac- 
commodate the  others  with  his  pulpit,  and  that  they  should 
countenance  his  itinerant  lay  preachers,  the  meaning  is  not 
obvious.  On  this  occasion,  also,  Mr.  Wesley  looked  for  an 
omen ;  and  relates,  with  evident  complacency,  at  the  end 
of  the  letter,  that  one  of  his  friends  having  objected  to  him 
the  impossibility  of  effecting  such  a  union,  he  went  up 
stairs,  and,  after  a  little  prayer,  opened  Kempis  on  these 
words:  Expecta  Dominum  ;  viriliter  age ;  noli  diffidere ; 
noli  discedere  ;  sed  corpus  et  animam  expone  canstanter  pro 
gloria  Dei. 

The  greater  part  of  the  methodizing  clergy  adhered  to 
Lady  Huntingdon's  party  in  the  dispute.  Among  those 
who  remained  attached  to  Mr.  Wesley,  Vincent  Perronet, 
the  vicar  of  Shorehara,  was  one,  who  was,  either  by  birth 
or  extraction,  a  Swiss,  and  who,  in  the  Romish  church, 
would  have  been  beatified  or  canonized,  for  what,  in  rays- 


MR.  6RIM3HAW. 


219 


tical  language,  would  be  called  his  rapts,  as  well  as  for  the 
uniform  piety  of  his  life.  William  Grimshaw,  who  held 
the  perpetual  curacy  of  Haworth,  in  one  of  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  West  Riding,  was  a  more  active  associate.  In 
his  unconverted  state,  this  person  was  certainly  insane ; 
and,  had  he  given  utterance  at  that  time  to  the  monstrous 
and  horrible  imaginations  which  he  afterward  revealed  to 
his  spiritual  friends,  he  would  deservedly  have  been  sent 
to  Bedlam.  His  change  of  mind,  which  was  not  till  he  had 
been  ten  years  in  holy  orders,  was  preceded  by  what  he 
supposed  to  be  a  miraculous  impression  upon  his  senses, 
and  which  may  possibly  have  been  an  electrical  or  gal- 
vanic effect  :*  and  in  the  course  of  his  ministry,  he  was 
favored  with  a  vision  in  a  trance  ;  that  is  to  say,  he  mistook 
delirium  for  reality .t  He  became,  however,  a  very  zealous 
parish  priest ;  and  his  oddities,  which  procured  him  the 
name  of  Mad  Grimshaw,  did  not  prevent  him  from  being 
very  useful  among  a  set  of  parishioners  who  are  said  to 
have  been  as  wild  as  the  bleak,  barren  country  which  they 
inhabited,  and  to  have  had  little  more  sense  of  religion  than 
their  cattle. 

The  parish  contained  four  hamlets,  in  each  of  which  he 
made  it  a  rule  to  preach  three  times  a-month,  partly  for 
the  sake  of  the  old  and  infirm,  but  chiefly  for  those  who 
scarcely  ever  attended  the  church,  because  of  the  distance. 
As  he  found  that  people  were  willing  to  hear  him,  he 
extended  his  preaching  into  his  neighbors'  parishes,  with- 
out troubling  himself  to  ask  the  consent  of  the  minister,  or 

*  Mr.  Joseph  Williams,  of  Kidderminster,  relates  the  fact  from  Grim- 
shaw's  own  testimony :  "  At  last  the  time  of  his  deliverance  came.  At 
the  house  of  one  of  his  friends  he  lays  his  hand  on  a  book,  and  opens  it 
with  his  face  toward  a  pewter  shelf.  Instantly  his  face  is  saluted  with 
an  uncommon  flash  of  heat.  He  turns  to  the  title-page,  and  finds  it  to 
be  Dr.  Owen  on  Justification.  Immediately  he  is  surprised  with  such 
another  flash.  He  borrows  the  book,  studies  it,  is  led  into  God's  method 
of  justifying  the  ungodly,  hath  a  new  heart  given  him,  and  now,  behold, 
he  prayeth !" 

[Mr.  Watson  treats  this  sage  solution  of  the  case  with  just,  though 
cutting  irony.  "  Pity  but  this  blunt,  honest  clergyman  had  been  as 
expert  as  Mr.  Southey  in  tracing  effects  to  their  true  causes ;  had  he 
been,  galvanism  might  then  have  been  discovered,  and  Grimshaw  have 
robbed  Galvani  and  Italy  of  the  honor." — Am.  Ed.'\ 

t  The  case  seems  to  have  been  an  apoplectic  affection  of  the  slightest 
kind  :  the  detail  may  be  seen  in  his  life  by  Mr.  Myles  (p.  14),  as  given 
by  himself  to  Mr.  Williams  of  Kidderminster.  A  more  remarkable 
case  of  the  same  kind  is  noticed  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  X.,  pp. 
117,  118. 


220 


WESLEY^S  CLERICAL  COADJUTORS. 


caring  whether  he  liked  it  or  not.  In  this  way  he  estab- 
lished two  circuits  of  his  own,  which  he  went  round  every 
fortnight :  in  the  more  populous,  he  preached  from  four- 
and-twenty  to  thirty  times  in  the  week ;  and,  in  the  other, 
about  half  as  often  ;  wherefore  he  called  this  his  idle  week. 
While  he  was  at  home,  he  had  a  morning  meeting  for 
prayer  and  exhortation  at  his  own  house,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  summer,  and  at  six  in  winter.  At  church  he  would 
stop  in  the  midst  of  the  prayers,  if  he  saw  any  person  inat- 
tentive, and  rebuke  the  offender  ;  and,  while  the  psalms 
were  singing  before  sermon,  he  would  go  out  to  see  if  any 
persons  were  idling  in  the  church-yard,  or  in  the  street,  or 
in  the  ale-houses,  and  drive  as  many  as  he  could  find  into 
the  church  before  him.  These  were  not  the  only  means 
which  he  used  for  bringing  his  parishioners  into  order. 
Having  taken  up  the  dismal  puritanical  notion,  that  it  is 
sinful  to  walk  in  the  fields  for  recreation  on  the  Sabbath- 
day,  he  would  set  out  himself,  in  order  to  reprove  such 
persons  as  he  detected  in  the  fact.  This  odd  humor  led 
him  also,  like  the  Caliph  Haroun  Alraschid,  in  the  Arabian 
Tales,  to  go  out  in  disguise,  and  see  in  what  manner  his 
instructions  were  observed,  and  how  far  the  people  were 
in  reality  what  they  made  themselves  appear  to  him.  Thus 
he  went  to  the  door  of  a  great  professor  of  charity,  and 
begged  a  night's  lodging,  in  the  character  of  a  poor  man, 
and  was  turned  away  with  abuse.  And  he  teased  a  pur- 
blind woman,  by  touching  her  repeatedly  with  a  stick,  like 
a  mischievous  boy,  till,  taking  him  for  one,  and  finding 
threats  insufficient,  she  gave  her  tongue  the  reins,  and 
began  to  swear.  Neither  of  these  were  fair  trials ;  but 
discretion  was  no  part  of  his  character.  Such,  however, 
was  the  effect  which  he  produced  by  his  zeal,  his  vigilance, 
and  his  real  worth,  that  a  man  who,  being  on  his  way  for 
a  midwife  one  Sunday,  wanted  his  horse  shod  in  the  village, 
could  not  prevail  upon  the  blacksmith  to  do  the  job,  till 
they  had  gone  together  to  Mr.  Grimshaw,  and  he  had 
granted  permission,  being  satisfied  of  the  necessity  of  the 
case.  And  it  was  believed,  long  after  his  death,  that  he 
had  put  a  stop  to  the  races  at  Haworth  by  his  prayers, 
because,  when  he  had  often  and  vainly  attempted  to  dis- 
suade the  people  from  subscribing  and  promoting  these 
meetings,  for  the  benefit  of  the  publicans,  he  prayed  at 
length  that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
evil  proceedings  in  his  own  way,  a  heavy  rain  during  the 


MR.  GRIMSHAW. 


221 


whole  three  days  spoiled  the  sport,  and,  after  that  time, 
the  mischievous  custom  was  not  revived. 

Giimshaw  entered  entirely  into  Mr.  Wesley's  views, 
acted  as  assistant  in  the  circuit  wherein  he  resided,  and 
attended  the  Conference  every  third  year,  when  it  was 
held  at  Leeds.  When  Whitefield  or  Wesley  came  to  visit 
him,  a  scaffold  was  erected  for  them  in  the  church-yard,  the 
church  not  being  large  enough  to  hold  the  concourse  that 
assembled.  Prayers,  therefore,  were  read  in  the  church, 
the  preaching  was  in  the  open  air,  and  the  sacrament  was 
afterward  administered  to  successive  congregations,  one 
church-full  after  another.  Whitefield  happened,  in  one  of 
his  sermons,  to  speak  as  if  he  believed  his  hearers  had 
profited  much  by  the  exertions  of  the  faithful  pastor  who 
had  so  long  labored  among  them  :  but  Grimshaw  stood  up, 
and  interrupted  him  immediately,  saying,  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Oh,  sir,  for  God's  sake  do  not  speak  so  !  I  pray  you,  do 
not  flatter  them  :  I  fear  the  greater  part  of  them  are  going 
to  hell  with  their  eyes  open."  His  admiration  of  the  itin- 
erants was  very  great :  his  house  was  their  home  ;  they 
preached  in  his  kitchen,  and  he  always  gave  notice  at 
church  when  this  was  to  be ;  and,  that  their  flock  might 
not  be  scattered  after  his  death,  when  a  more  regular  and 
less  zealous  minister  should  succeed  him,  he  built  a  chapel 
and  dwelling-house  at  his  own  expense,  and  settled  it  upon 
the  Methodist  plan.  He  not  only  received  the  preachers 
as  his  guests,  but  as  many  visitors  as  his  house  would  hold ; 
giving  up  his  own  bed,  and  sleeping,  unknown  to  them,  in 
the  hayloft.  No  office  appeared  to  him  too  humble  on 
such  occasions — no  mark  of  respect  too  great  for  a  success- 
ful preacher  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  once  found  cleaning 
the  boots  of  an  itinerant :  once  he  embraced  a  preacher 
after  his  sermon,  and  said,  "  The  Lord  bless  thee,  Ben  ; 
this  is  worth  a  hundred  of  my  sermons !"  and  he  fell  down 
before  another,  saying,  he  was  not  worthy  to  stand  in  his 
presence.  The  only  son  of  this  singular  man  was  educated 
at  Kingswood,  and  became  a  drunkard,  "  notwithstanding 
he  had  been  favored  with  a  religious  education,"  says  his 
father's  biographer,  "  and  had  been  prayed  for  by  some  of 
the  holiest  men  in  the  land."  The  severe  and  injudicious 
system  under  which  he  had  suffered  at  school,  and  the 
eccentricities  which  he  had  seen  at  home,  may  easily  ex- 
plain the  wonder.  The  poor  fellow,  however,  had  a  sense 
of  his  own  worthlessness  and  degeneracy ;  and  when  he 


222 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors. 


was  riding  home,  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  would  some- 
times say  to  his  horse,  the  one  which  Grimshaw  had  ridden 
upon  his  circuits,  "  Once  tliou  carried  a  saint,  but  now  thou 
earnest  a  devil."  Disease  and  strong  pain,  the  bitter  con- 
sequences of  his  course  of  life,  brought  him  to  repentance 
and  to  the  grave ;  and  some  of  his  last  words  were, 
"  What  will  my  father  say,  when  he  sees  that  I  am  got  to 
heaven  !"* 

Of  the  few  clergymen  who  entered  into  Mr.  Wesley's 
views,  and  heartily  cooperated  with  him,  Mr.  Grimshaw 
was  the  most  eccentric  ;  Mr.  Fletcher  the  most  remarkable 
for  intellectual  powers  :  the  one  who  entered  most  entirely 
into  the  affairs  of  the  society  was  Thomas  Coke.  This 
person,  who  held  so  distinguished  a  place  among  the 
Methodists,  and  by  whose  unwearied  zeal  and  indefatiga- 
ble exertions  that  spirit  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  kindled  in 
England  was  extended  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world, 
was  born  at  Brecknock,  in  the  year  1747,  the  only  child  of 
respectable  and  wealthy  parents.  The  father  died  during 
his  childhood,  and  the  youth,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  was 
entered  as  a  gentleman  commoner  at  Jesus  College,  Ox- 
ford. He  escaped  from  the  university  with  fewer  vices 
than  in  those  days  were  generally  contracted  there;  but 
he  brought  away  a  taint  of  that  philosophistical  infidelity 
which  was  then  beginning  to  infect  half-learned  men.  The 
works  of  Bishop  Sherlock  reclaimed  him  :  he  entered  into 
holy  orders,  and,  being  in  expectation  of  some  considera- 
ble preferment,  took  out  his  degree  of  doctor  of  laws.  The 
disappointment  which  he  experienced  from  certain  persons 
in  power,  to  whom  he  had  looked  as  patrons,  was  of  little 
consequence  to  him,  being  possessed  of  a  fair  patrimony. 
He  accepted  the  curacy  of  South  Petherton,  in  Somerset- 
shire, and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  with  more 
than  ordinary  zeal.  His  preaching  soon  filled  the  church  : 
more  room  was  wanting  for  the  congregation ;  and  as  the 
vestry  would  not  be  persuaded  to  erect  a  gallery,  he  built 
one  at  his  own  expense.  This,  and  the  style  of  his  dis- 
courses, raised  a  suspicion  that  he  was  inclined  to  Method- 

*  [Is  it  not  remarkable  that  a  man  naturally  crazy  should,  through 
the  "  disease"  of  Methodism,  become  generally  sane, — abound  in  love 
and  good  works, — turn  many  from  sin  to  righteousness, — and  even  long 
after  his  decease,  by  the  influence  of  his  examples  and  prayers,  reclaim 
a  prodigal  son  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  regretted,  since  such  are  the  effects  of 
madness,  that  there  are  so  few  crazy  clergj-^men  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land?— See  Appendix,  Note  XXX. — Am.  Ed.^ 


DR.  COKE. 


223 


ism.  The  growing  inclination  was  strengthened  by  con- 
versation with  Maxfield,  who  happened  then  to  be  residing 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  confirmed  by  the  perusal  of 
Alleiue's  Alarm  to  the  Unconverted.*  He  now  preached 
extemporaneously,  established  evening  lectures,  and  intro- 
duced hymns  into  the  Church  ;  but,  by  thus  going  on  faster 
than  the  parishioners  were  prepared  to  follow,  he  ex- 
cited a  strong  spirit  of  opposition ;  complaints  against  him 
were  preferred  to  the  bishop  and  to  the  rector  :  the  former 
merely  admonished  him ;  by  the  latter  he  was  dismissed, 
in  a  manner  which  seems  to  have  been  studiously  disre- 
spectful, before  the  people,  publicly,  on  the  Sabbath-day  : 
and  his  enemies  had  the  indecency  to  chime  him  out  of 
the  church.  These  insults  roused  his  Welsh  blood  ;  and 
he  determined,  with  more  spirit  than  prudence,  to  take  his 
stand  near  the  church  on  the  two  following  Sundays,  and 
preach  to  the  people  when  they  came  out,  for  the  purpose 
of  vindicating  himself,  gratifying  his  adherents,  and  exhort- 
ing his  opponents  to  repentance.  These,  who  were,  proba- 
bly, the  more  numerous,  were  so  provoked  at  this  that  they 
collected  stones,  for  the  purpose  of  pelting  him,  on  his  sec- 
ond exhibition  ;  and  the  doctor  would  hardly  have  escaped 
without  some  serious  injury,  if  a  young  lady  and  her  broth- 
er, whom  the  people  knew  and  respected,  had  not  placed 
themselves  one  on  each  side  of  him.  He  now  took  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  being  introduced  to  Wesley.  The 
latter  soon  came  into  Somersetshire,  in  his  rounds,  and  thus 
notices  the  meeting  in  his  Journal :  Here  I  found  a  cler- 
gyman. Dr.  Coke,  late  a  gentleman  commoner  of  Jesus 
College,  in  Oxford,  who  came  twenty  miles  on  purpose  to 
meet  me.  I  had  much  conversation  with  him  ;  and  a  union 
then  began  which,  I  trust,  shall  never  end.'* 

This  was  in  the  year  1776.  Dr.  Coke  immediately  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society,  and  was  soon 
regarded  as  the  most  efficient  of  all  Mr.  Wesley's  fellow- 
laborers.  Having  wholly  given  himself  up  to  the  Con- 
nection, the  second  place  in  it  was  naturally  assigned  to 

*  "A  book  which  multitudes  will  have  cause  forever  to  be  thankful 
for,"  says  Calamy.  No  book  in  the  English  tongue  (the  Bible  excepted) 
can  equal  it  for  the  number  that  hath  been  dispersed ;  for  there  have 
been  twenty  thousand  of  them  printed  and  sold  under  the  title  of  the 
Call,  or  Alarm  to  the  Unconverted,  in  8vo.  or  12mo. ;  and  fifty  thou- 
sand of  the  same  book  have  been  sold  under  the  title  of  the  Sure  Guide 
to  Heaven,  thirty  thousand  of  which  were  at  one  impression." — Ac- 
count of  the  Ejected  Ministers,  vol.  ii.,  p.  577. 


224 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors. 


him.  No  other  of  its  active  members  was  possessed  of 
equal  fortune  and  rank  in  society ;  and  all  that  he  had,  his 
fortune,  to  every  shilling,  and  his  life,  to  every  minute  that 
could  be  employed  in  active  exertions,  were  devoted  to  its 
interests.  He  was  now  considered  as  Mr.  Wesley's  more 
immediate  representative  ;  and,  instead  of  being  stationed, 
like  the  other  preachers,  in  a  circuit,  he  traveled,  like  Mr. 
Wesley,  as  a  general  inspector,  wherever  his  presence  was 
thought  needful.  In  Ireland,  more  particularly,  he  visited 
the  societies  alternately  with  Mr.  Wesley,  so  that  an  annual 
visitation  was  always  made.  Before  Mr.  Wesley  became 
acquainted  with  Dr.  Coke,  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been  looked 
to  as  the  fittest  person  to  act  as  his  coadjutor,  and  succeed 
to  as  much  of  his  authority  as  could  be  deputed  to  any  suc- 
cessor. But  Mr.  Fletcher  shrunk  from  the  invidious  dis- 
tinction, and  from  the  difficulties  of  the  task  :  he  had  found 
his  place,  and  knew  where  he  could  be  most  usefully  em- 
ployed for  others,  and  most  happily  for  himself. 

The  want  of  clerical  assistants  had  been  severely  felt  by 
Wesley.  Notwithstanding  his  attachment  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  his  desire  not  only  to  continue  in  union 
with  it  himself,  but  to  preserve  his  people  from  forming  a 
schism,  the  tendency  to  separation  became  every  year  more 
apparent,  from  various  causes,  of  which  some  were  inci- 
dental, but  others  arose  inevitably  from  the  system  which 
he  had  established.  A  hostile  feeling  toward  the  Church 
was  retained  by  the  Dissenters  who  united  themselves  to 
the  Methodists  :  these  proselytes  were  not  numerous,  but 
they  leavened  the  society.  It  is  likely,  too,  that  as  Method- 
ism began  to  assume  consistency  and  importance,  just  at 
the  time  when  the  Non-jurors  were  on  the  point  of  disso- 
lution, a  considerable  proportion  of  that  party  would  rather 
ally  themselves  with  it,  than  with  the  sectarians  or  the  Es- 
tablishment ;  and  these  persons  also  would  bring  with  them 
an  unfavorable  disposition  toward  the  Church.  But  the 
main  cause  is  obviously  to  be  found  in  the  growing  influ- 
ence of  the  lay  preachers,  their  jealousy  of  the  few  clergy- 
men who  acted  with  them,  their  natural  desire  of  placing 
themselves  upon  a  level  with  the  ministers  of  other  denom- 
inations, and  the  disrespect  with  which  the  Establishment 
began  to  be  regarded  by  most  of  those  persons  who  pre- 
ferred the  preaching  at  the  chapel  to  that  in  the  church. 
And,  though  Wesley  often  and  earnestly  warned  them 
against  this,  neither  his  language  nor  his  conduct  were  at 


TENDENCY  TO  SCHISM. 


225 


all  times  consistent.  In  controversy,  and  in  self-defense, 
he  was  sometimes  led  to  speak  of  the  unworthy  ministers 
of  the  Establishment  in  terms  of  indignation,  not  consider- 
ing that  his  remarks  would  be  generally  applied  by  many 
of  his  followers. 

The  growing  desire  of  the  itinerants  to  raise  themselves 
in  rank,  and  of  the  societies  to  have  the  sacrament  admin- 
istered by  their  own  preachers,  induced  Wesley,  who,  in 
the  continual  bustle  of  his  life,  sometimes  acted  without  due 
consideration,  to  take  the  strange  means  of  obtaining  or- 
ders for  some  of  his  lay  assistants  from  a  Greek,  who  call- 
ed himself  Erasmus,  and  appeared  in  London  with  the  title 
of  Bishop  of  Arcadia.  This  measure  was,  in  every  point 
of  view,  injudicious.  Charles  was  decidedly  hostile  to  it, 
and  would  never  allow  the  preachers  who  had  been  thus 
ordained  to  assist  him  at  the  communion  table.  Stanifortli 
was  one;  and  he  found  it  so  invidious  among  his  colleagues, 
that  he  never  thought  proper  to  exercise  the  ministerial 
functions.  On  the  other  hand,  some,  both  of  the  local  and 
itinerant  preachers,  coveted  the  distinction,  and  prevailed 
upon  the  obliging  bishop  to  lay  his  hands  upon  them,  with- 
out Mr.  Wesley's  consent.  Displeased  at  this  disregard  of 
his  authority,  he  acted  with  his  wonted  decision,  and  at 
once  excluded  from  the  Connection  those  who  would  not 
forego  the  powers  with  which  they  supposed  themselves 
to  be  invested.    It  was  doubtful  whether  this  Erasmus* 

*  Toplady  saw  a  certificate  given  by  this  vagrant,  as  he  calls  him,  to 
the  persons  whom  he  pretended  to  ordain.  It  confirmed  him  in  his 
opinion  that  the  man  was  an  impostor,  because  it  was  written,  not  in 
the  modern  Greek,  but  in  the  ancient,  and  of  a  very  mean  sort.  This 
is  the  translation :  "  Our  measure  from  the  grace,  gift,  and  power  of  the 
all-holy  and  life-giving  Spirit,  given  by  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ  to  his 
divine  and  holy  apostles,  to  ordain  sub-deacons  and  deacons,  and  also 
to  advance  to  the  dignity  of  a  priest !  Of  this  grace,  which  hath  descend- 
ed to  our  humility,  I  have  ordained  sub-deacon  and  deacon,  at  Snow- 
fields  Chapel,  on  the  19th  day  of  Nov.,  1764,  and  at  West-street  Chapel, 
on  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  priest,  the  Rev.  Mr.  W.  C,  according 
to  the  rules  of  the  holy  apostles  and  of  our  faith.  Moreover  I  have  giv- 
en to  him  power  to  minister  and  teach,  in  all  the  world,  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  no  one  forbidding  him  in  the  Church  of  God.  Wherefore, 
for  that  very  purpose,  I  have  made  this  present  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion from  our  humility,  and  have  given  it  to  the  ordained  Mr.  W.  C, 
for  his  certificate  and  security. 

"  Given  and  written  at  London,  in  Britain,  Nov.  24,  1764. 

"Erasmus,  Bishop  of  Arcadia." 

Mr.  Nightingale  says  that  inquiry  concerning  him  was  made  of  the 
Patriarch  of  Smyrna,  and  that  it  appeared  he  really  was  Bishop  of  Ar- 
cadia, in  Crete. 

K* 


226 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP. 


was  what  he  pretended  to  be  ;  and  the  whole  transaction 
gave  Wesley's  enemies  an  opportunity  of  attacking  him, 
which  they  did  not  fail  to  use.  They  charged  him  with 
having  violated  the  oath  of  supremacy,  by  thus  inducing  a 
foreign  prelate  to  exercise  acts  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction 
within  this  realm;  and  they  alledged  that  he  had  even 
pressed  the  Greek  to  consecrate  him  a  bishop  also,  that  he 
might  then  ordain  what  ministers  he  pleased.  Erasmus 
was  said  to  have  refused,  because,  according  to  the  canons 
of  the  Greek  Church,  more  than  one  bishop  must  be  pres- 
ent to  assist  at  the  consecration  of  a  new  one.  Charles 
Wesley  was  even  accused,  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  of 
having  offered  the  Greek  forty  guineas,  if  he  would  per- 
form the  ceremony.  This  is  palpably  false  :  nothing  can 
be  so  incredible  as  that  Charles  Wesley  would  have  made 
such  an  offer,  except  that  a  Bishop  of  Arcadia  in  London 
should  have  refused  it.  The  charge  of  simony  is,  beyond 
all  doubt,  purely  calumnious — in  the  spirit  of  that  slander 
which  the  Gospel  Magazine  breathed  in  all  its  numbers. 
But  there  seems  reason  to  believe  that  Wesley  was  willing 
to  have  been  episcopized  on  this  occasion.* 

*  [This  affair  respecting  the  Gi-eek  bishop,  bo  far  as  Mr.  Wesley's 
name  is  involved,  is  not  fairly  stated  by  Mr.  Southey.  The  \'isit  of  this 
prelate  to  England  occurred  during  the  early  part  of  the  controversy 
with  the  Calvinists  ;  and  such  was  the  intemperate  violence  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  opponents  in  that  debate,  that  they  tried  very  hard  to  make 
something  terrible  of  this  affair.  Mr.  Wesley  refers  to  it  but  once  in 
his  writings  ;  that  reference  is  in  one  of  his  laconic  replies  to  the  asper- 
sions of  Rowland  Hill.  His  words  are  :  "  I  never  entreated  any  thing 
from  Bishop  Erasmus,  who  had  abundant  unexceptionable  credentials 
as  to  his  episcopal  character.  Nor  did  he  ever  '  reject  any  overture' 
made  by  me.  Herein  Mr.  Hill  has  been  misinformed.  I  deny  the  fact ; 
let  him  produce  the  evidence."  But  the  evidence  was  never  produced, 
and  had  not  such  writers  as  Mr.  Southey  given  to  a  stale  slander  an  un- 
deserved immortality,  the  whole  affair  would  have  been  long  since  con 
signed  to  merited  oblivion. 

The  assumption  that  Mr.  Wesley  took  means  for  obtaining  from  this 
bishop  orders  for  some  of  his  lay  assistants  is  a  pure  fiction;  and  the  insin- 
uation made  above,  and  repeated  in  another  place,  that  he  sought  episco- 
pal ordination  for  himself  from  him,  is  libelous,  and  so  absurd  that  the 
authority  of  the  Gospel  Magazine,  though  half  indorsed  by  Mr.  Southey, 
can  not  persuade  any  unprejudiced  and  well  informed  person  to  believe 
it.  Mr.  Wesley  understood  the  nature  of  the  ministerial  office  and 
character  too  well  to  suppose  that  either  the  one  or  the  other  could  be 
given  by  prelatic  manipulations;  and,  though  he  had  no  doubt  of  the 
true  episcopal  character  of  the  Greek,  yet,  when  some  of  his  ill  informed 
assistants  had  received  imposition  of  hands  from  him,  Wesley  declared 
the  act  a  nullity,  and  refused  to  recognize  the  persons  so  ordained  as  in 
any  wise  differing  from  his  other  lay  preachers. — Am.  Ed.'\ 


CRAZY  ENTHUSIASTS. 


227 


Both  brothers  retained  the  fancy  of  baptizing  by  immer- 
sion, after  they  had  outgrown  many  other  eccentricities; 
and  Wesley  followed  this  mode  sometimes  in  condescen- 
sion to  the  whims  of  others,  when  he  had  ceased  to  attach 
any  importance  to  it,  and  must  have  perceived  the  exceed- 
ing inconvenience  of  the  practice.  One  of  the  charges 
which  the  virulent  Toplady  brought  against  him  was,  that 
of  having  immersed  a  certain  Lydia  Sheppard  in  a  bathing- 
tub,  in  a  cheesemonger's  cellar  in  Spitalfields,  and  holding 
her  so  long  under  water,  while  he  deliberately  pronounced 
the  words  of  administration,  that  she  was  almost  insensible 
when  she  was  taken  out.  The  story  was  related  on  her 
own  authority,  which  probably  was  not  the  best  in  the 
world.  But  Wesley's  course  of  life  brought  him  into  con- 
tact with  persons  under  every  disease  of  mind,  and  in  all 
the  intermediate  stages  between  madness  and  roguery. 
Crazy  people,  indeed,  found  their  way  to  him  as  com- 
monly as  they  used  to  do  to  court,  though  with  less  mis- 
chievous intentions.  They  generally  went  in  a  spirit  of 
pure  kindness,  to  enlighten  him,  and  correct  his  errors. 

Two  ignorant  dreamers,  while  the  French  Prophets  had 
a  party  in  this  country,  called  upon  him  at  the  Foundry, 
saying,  they  were  sent  from  God  to  inform  him,  that  very 
shortly  he  should  be  horrCd  again  ;  and  they  added,  that 
they  would  stay  in  the  house  till  it  was  done,  unless  he 
turned  them  out.  Wesley  knew  how  to  deal  with  such 
prophets  as  these  :  he  assured  them  that  he  would  not  turn 
them  out,  showed  them  into  the  Society  room,  and  left 
them  to  themselves.  "  It  was  tolerably  cold,"  he  says, 
"and  they  had  neither  meat  nor  drink."  There,  however, 
they  sat  from  morning  till  evening,  then  quietly  walked  off, 
and  troubled  him  with  their  company  no  more. 

A  woman  came  to  him,  one  day,  with  a  message  from 
the  Lord,  she  said,  to  tell  him  he  was  laying  up  treasures 
on  earth,  taking  his  ease,  and  minding  only  eating  and 
drinking.  **  I  told  her,"  says  he,  **  God  knew  me  better ; 
and,  if  he  had  sent  her,  it  would  have  been  with  a  more 
proper  message."^  The  idle  notion,  that  he  was  enriching 
himself,  prevailed  among  persons  who  might  easily  have 
known  better.  He  received  a  letter  from  the  Board  of 
Excise,  telling  him  the  commissioners  could  not  doubt  but 
that  he  had  plate,  for  which  he  had  neglected  to  make  an 
entry,  and  requiring  him  immediately  to  make  a  proper 
return.    His  answer  was, "  Sir,  I  have  two  silver  tea-spoons 


228 


INFIDELS. 


at  London,  and  two  at  Bristol :  this  is  all  the  plate  which  1 
have  at  present ;  and  I  shall  not  buy  any  more,  while  so 
many  round  me  want  bread." 

In  the  beginning  of  his  career,  Wesley  perceived  that 
there  was  more  danger  of  the  growth  of  infidelity  than  of 
superstition ;  and  this  opinion  was  confirmed  by  his  after- 
experience.  He  discovered,  in  the  beautiful  vale  of  Lor- 
ton,  that  Deism  had  found  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the 
Cumbrian  mountains  ;  and  near  Manchester  he  found,  what 
he  had  never  heard  of  in  England,  a  whole  clan  of  infidel 
peasants,  who  had  been  scoffed  and  argued  out  of  their 
belief  by  the  vulgar  ribaldry  and  impudent  ignorance  of  an 
ale-house-keeper.  Of  the  persons  whom  he  met  with  in 
this  unhappy  state  of  mind,  some  were  contented  to  live 
without  God  in  the  world,  and  be  as  the  beasts  that  perish, 
as  if  they  had  succeeded  in  annihilating  their  diviner  part. 
But  others  confessed  the  misery  of  wandering  in  doubt  and 
darkness.  One  who,  having  been  a  zealous  Romanist,  had 
cast  off  Popery  and  Christianity  together,  said  to  him,  "  I 
know  there  is  a  God,  and  I  believe  him  to  be  the  soul  of 
all,  the  anima  mundi ;  if  he  be  not  rather,  as  I  sometimes 
think,  the  To  lidv,  the  whole  compages  of  body  and  spirit 
everywhere  diffused.  But  farther  than  this  I  know  not : 
all  is  dark ;  ray  thought  is  lost.  Whence  I  came,  I  know 
not ;  nor  what,  nor  why,  I  am  ;  nor  whither  I  am  going. 
But  this  I  know,  I  am  unhappy ;  I  am  weary  of  life  ;  I 
wish  it  were  at  an  end." 

For  men  in  this  pitiable  state  Wesley  was  an  excellent 
physician,  and  he  had  not  unfrequently  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  his  advice  was  not  given  in  vain.  He  him- 
self had  gone  through  this  stage  of  doubt  in  early  life,  and 
has  described  the  perplexity  of  his  mind  with  great  force 
and  feeling.  **  After  carefully  heaping  up,"  he  says,  **  the 
strongest  arguments  which  I  could  find,  either  in  ancient 
or  modern  authors,  for  the  very  being  of  a  God,  and  (which 
is  nearly  connected  with  it)  the  existence  of  an  invisible 
world,  I  have  wandered  up  and  down  musing  with  myself, 
what  if  all  these  things  which  I  see  around  me,  this  earth 
and  heaven,  this  universal  frame,  have  existed  from  eter- 
nity ?  What  if  that  melancholy  supposition  of  the  old  poet 
be  the  real  case  % 

Oh]  TT^p  <j>vA7MV  yevETj  Toi^Se  koL  dvdptiv. 

What  if  the  generation  of  men  be  exactly  parallel  with  the 


Wesley's  state  of  doubt. 


229 


generation  of  leaves — if  the  earth  drop  its  successive  in- 
habitants just  as  the  tree  drops  its  leaves  1  What  if  that 
saying  of  a  great  man  be  really  true,  Post  mortem  nihil 
est,  ct  ipsa  mors  nihil,  Death  is  nothing,  and  nothing  is 
after  death.  How  am  I  sure  that  this  is  not  the  case  ] 
that  I  have  not  '  followed  cunningly  devised  fables  1'* 
And  I  have  pursued  the  thought  till  there  was  no  spirit 
in  me,  and  I  was  ready  to  choose  strangling  rather  than 
life."t 

On  the  other  hand,  there  could  not  be  a  more  dangerous 
counselor  for  persons  with  a  certain  tendency  to  derange- 
ment, for  he  seems  always  to  have  delighted  to  believe  ex- 
traordinary things  which  he  ought  to  have  doubted,  and  to 
have  encouraged  sallies  of  enthusiasm  which  he  ought  to 
have  repressed.  Thus,  speaking  of  a  lady  who  exhibited 
before  him  her  gift  of  extempore  prayer,  he  says,  Such  a 
prayer  I  never  heard  before ;  it  was  perfectly  an  original ; 
odd  and  unconnected,  made  up  of  disjointed  fragments,  and 
yet  like  a  flame  of  fire  :  every  sentence  went  through  my 
heart,  and,  I  believe,  the  heart  of  every  one  present.  For 
many  months  I  have  found  nothing  like  it.  It  was  good  for 
me  to  be  here."  And  again,  after  a  second  performance, 
he  reasons  upon  the  case :  "  Is  not  this  an  instance  of  ten 
thousand,  of  God's  choosing  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  wise '?  Here  is  one  that  has  only  a  weak 
natural  understanding,  but  an  impetuosity  of  temper  bor- 
dering upon  madness.    And  hence  both  her  sentiments  are 

♦  I  too  (but  indeed  what  mind  of  any  common  sensibility  has  not  ?) 
have  been  whirled  round  in  the  same  eddy ;  but  I  used  to  find  relief 
in  the  reflection,  that  were  it  so,  I  should  not  be  putting  the  question, 
or  capable  of  doubting  it  sufficiently  even  to  be  conscious  of  it.  I 
should  drop  as  the  leaves ;  for  my  impulse  to  ask  respecting  it  must 
have  a  source,  and,  according  to  the  hypothesis,  this  source  must  be 
God.— S.  T.  C. 

t  Wesley  introduced  a  remarkable  passage  of  this  kind  in  one  of  his 
sermons.  "  The  devil,"  said  he,  "  once  infused  into  my  mind  a  tempta- 
tion, that  perhaps  I  did  not  believe  what  I  was  preaching.  '  Well 
then,'  said  I,  '  I  will  preach  it  till  I  do.'  But,  the  devil  suggested, 
'  What  if  it  should  not  be  true  V  '  Still,'  I  replied,  '  I  will  preach  it, 
because,  whether  true  or  not,  it  must  be  pleasing  to  God,  by  preparing 
men  better  for  another  world.'  '  But  what  if  there  should  be  no  other 
world  ?'  rejoined  the-  enemy.  *I  will  go  on  preaching  it,'  said  I,  '  be- 
cause it  is  the  way  to  make  them  better  and  happier  in  this.'  "  This 
passage  is  not  in  Mr.  Wesley's  works ;  but  I  relate  it,  with  perfect  con- 
fidence, on  the  authority  of  the  late  Dr.  Estlin,  of  Bristol,  who  heard 
Iiim  preach  the  sermon,  and  whom  I  will  not  thus  cursorily  mention 
without  an  expression  of  respectful  remembrance. 


230 


WESLEY  S  CREDULITY. 


confused,  and  her  expressions  odd  and  indigested  ;  and 
yet,  notwithstanding  this,  more  of  the  real  power  of  God 
attends  these  uncouth  expressions,  than  the  sensible  dis- 
courses of  even  good  men,  who  have  twenty  times  her  un- 
derstanding." The  wonder  would  have  ceased  if  he  had 
reflected  upon  the  state  of  mind  in  the  recipients. 

Here  he  was  the  dupe  of  his  own  devout  emotions, 
which,  in  a  certain  mood,  might  as  well  have  been  excited 
by  the  music  of  an  organ,  or  the  warbling  of  a  sky-lark.  But 
he  was  sometimes  imposed  upon  by  relations  which  were 
worthy  to  have  figured  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum.  One  of 
his  preachers  pretended  to  go  through  the  whole  ser- 
vice of  the  meeting  in  his  sleep — exhorting,  singing,  and 
preaching,  and  even  discoursing  with  a  clergyman  who 
came  in  and  reasoned  with  him  during  his  exhibition,  and 
affecting  in  the  morning  to  know  nothing  of  what  he  had 
done  during  the  night.  And  Wesley  could  believe  this,  and 
ask  seriously  by  what  principle  of  philosophy  it  was  to  be 
explained  !*    He  believed  also  that  a  young  woman,  hav- 

*  If  Mr.  Southey  had  never  heard  of  persons  walking  in  sleep,  and 
performing  the  regular  business  of  life,  thereby  discovering  a  continu- 
ous and  correct  perception  of  place  and  circumstances,  a  fact  confirmed 
by  numerous  examples,  this  phenomenon  too,  equally  puzzling  to  phi- 
losophy, would  have  been  referred  to  the  "  Acta  Sanctorum."  But  is 
there  any  thing  in  sleep-talking,  in  itself  more  incredible,  than  in  sleep- 
walking ?  In  a  regular  discourse  pronounced  in  sleep,  which  supposes 
a  connected  train  of  thought,  than  in  performing  a  regular  course  of 
actions,  which  also  implies,  beside  such  connection  of  the  thoughts,  a 
mysterious,  and  often  an  exact  perception  of  an  outward  scene,  though 
in  sleep  ?  Yet  in  this  superficial  and  dogmatic  way  of  determining  a 
subject  does  Mr.  Southey  pronounce  the  "  preacher"  an  impostor. 
That  preacher  was  Mr.  Catlow,  which  is  every  thing  necessary  to  be 
said  to  those  who  knew  him,  to  rebut  Mr.  Southey's  calumny,  and  to 
defend  Mr.  Wesley,  in  this  instance,  at  least,  from  the  charge  of  a 
"voracious  credulity."  He  separated  fi-om  Mr.  Wesley  from  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  :  but  his  plain,  straightforward  integrity  was  such,  that 
he  was  usually  designated  by  Mr.  Wesley,  after  his  separation,  "  honest 
Jonathan  Catlow."  The  Rev.  Jonathan  Edmondson,  of  Birmingham,  a 
most  respectable  man,  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Catlow's,  has  recently  informed 
me,  that  this  peculiarity  of  his  relative  was  well  known  in  the  family ; 
and  if  Mr.  Southey  wishes  more  information  on  the  case,  I  refer  him 
also  to  Mr.  Catlow,  his  son,  master  of  an  Academy  at  Mansfield,  in  Not- 
tinghamshire, and  who  may  be  known  either  by  Mr.  Southey,  or  by 
his  quondam  friends  as  a  Unitarian  minister."  If  Mr.  Southey  has  no 
better  proofs  of  Mr.  Wesley's  credulity  to  offer,  he  must  go  a  second 
time  over  the  Magazine  and  Journals  in  quest  of  other  instances.  Let 
him,  however,  be  careful  to  ascertain  the  character  of  every  pei'son  who 
may  be  mentioned  before  he  holds  them  up  as  pretenders  and  impos- 
tors.— Rev.  R.  Watson-.] 


Wesley's  credulity. 


231 


ing  received  a  strong  impulse  to  call  sinners  to  repentance, 
was  inwardly  told,  that  if  she  would  not  do  it  willingly,  she 
should  do  it  whether  she  would  or  not :  that  from  that  time 
she  became  subject  to  fits,  in  which  she  always  imagined 
herself  to  be  preaching ;  and  that  having  cried  out  at  last, 
"  Lord,  I  will  obey  thee,  I  will  call  sinners  to  repentance," 
and  begun  to  preach  in  consequence,  the  fits  left  her.  In 
the  history  of  this  remarkable  man,  nothing  is  more  re- 
markable than  his  voracious  credulity.  He  accredited  and 
repeated  stories  of  apparitions,  and  witchcraft,  and  posses- 
sion, so  silly,  as  well  as  monstrous,  that  they  might  have 
nauseated  the  coarsest  appetite  for  wonder  ;  this,  too,  when 
the  belief  on  his  part  was  purely  gratuitous,  and  no  motive 
can  be  assigned  for  it,  except  the  pleasure  of  believing. 
The  state  of  mind  is  more  intelligible  which  made  him  as- 
cribe a  supernatural  importance  to  the  incidents  that  befel 
him,  whether  merely  accidental  or  produced  by  any  effort 
of  his  own.  Strong  fancy,  and  strong  prepossessions,  may 
explain  this,  without  asciibing  too  much  to  the  sense  of  his 
own  importance.  If  he  escaped  from  storms  at  sea,  it  ap- 
peared to  him  that  the  tempest  abated,  and  the  waves  fell, 
because  his  prayers  were  heard.  If  he  was  endangered  in 
traveling,  he  was  persuaded  that  angels,  both  evil  and  good, 
had  a  large  share  in  the  transaction.  **  The  old  murder- 
er," he  says,  "is  restrained  fi-om  hurting  me,  but  he  has 
power  over  my  horses."  A  panic  seized  the  people,  in  a 
crowded  meeting,  while  he  was  preaching  upon  the  slave- 
trade  :  it  could  not  be  accounted  for,  he  thought,  without 
supposing  some  preternatural  influence  :  **  Satan  fought, 
lest  his  kingdom  should  be  delivered  up."  If,  in  riding 
over  the  mountains  in  Westmoreland,  he  sees  rain  behind 
him  and  before,  and  yet  escapes  between  the  showers,  the 
natural  circumstance  appears  to  him  to  be  an  especial  inter- 
ference in  his  favor.  Preaching  in  the  open  air,  he  is 
chilled,  and  the  sun  suddenly  comes  forth  to  warm  him  : 
the  heat  becomes  too  powerful,  and  forthwith  a  cloud  is 
interposed.  So,  too,  at  Durham,  when  the  sun  shone  with 
such  force  upon  his  head,  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to 
speak,  '*  I  paused  a  little,"  he  says,  "  and  desired  God 
would  provide  me  a  covering,  if  it  was  for  his  glory.  In 
a  moment  it  was  done  ;  a  cloud  covered  the  sun,  which 
troubled  me  no  more.  Ought  voluntary  humility  to  con- 
ceal this  palpable  proof,  that  God  still  heareth  the  prayer 
At  another  time  the  sun,  while  he  was  officiating,  shone  full 


232 


Wesley's  credulity. 


in  his  face,  but  it  was  no  inconvenience  ;  nor  were  his  eyes 
more  dazzled  than  if  it  had  been  under  the  earth.  Labor- 
ing under  indisposition,  when  he  was  about  to  administer 
the  sacrament,  the  thought,  he  says,  came  into  his  mind, 
*'  Why  should  he  not  apply  to  God  at  the  beginning,  rather 
than  the  end  of  an  illness  V  He  did  so,  and  found  imme- 
diate relief.  By  an  effort  of  faith,  he  could  rid  himself  of 
the  toothache  :  and  more  than  once,  when  his  horse  fell 
lame,  and  there  was  no  other  remedy,  the  same  application 
was  found  effectual.  "  Some,"  he  observes,  *'  will  esteem 
this  a  most  notable  instance  of  enthusiasm  :  be  it  so  or  not, 
I  aver  the  plain  fact." 

This  was  Wesley's  peculiar  weakness,  and  he  retained 
it  to  the  last.  Time  and  experience  taught  him  to  correct 
some  of  his  opinions,  and  to  moderate  others,  but  this  was 
rooted  in  his  nature.  In  the  year  1780,  he  began  to  pub- 
lish the  Arminian  Magazine,  for  the  double  purpose  of 
maintaining  and  defending  those  doctrines  which  were  re- 
viled with  such  abominable  scurrility  by  the  Calvinists,  in 
their  monthly  journal,*  and  of  supplying  his  followers,  who 
were  not  in  the  habit  of  reading  much,  with  an  entertaining 
and  useful  miscellany.  Both  purposes  were  well  answer- 
ed :  but  having  this  means  at  his  command,  he  indulged 

♦  In  the  preface  to  the  first  volume  he  says,  "  Amid  the  multitude 
of  magazines  which  now  swarm  in  the  world,  there  was  one,  a  few 
years  ago,  termed  The  Christian  Magazine,  which  was  of  great  use  to 
mankind,  and  did  honor  to  the  publishers ;  but  it  was  soon  discontin- 
ued, to  the  regret  of  many  serious  and  sensible  persons.  In  the  room 
of  it  started  up  a  miscreated  phantom,  called  The  Spiritual  Magazine  ; 
and  not  long  after  it,  its  twin  sister,  oddly  called  The  Gospel  Mag- 
azine. Both  of  these  are  intended  to  show  that  God  is  not  loving 
to  every  man ;  that  his  mercy  is  not  over  all  his  works ;  and,  conse- 
quently, that  Christ  did  not  die  for  us  all,  but  for  one  in  ten,  for  the 
elect  only. 

"  This  comfortable  doctrine,  the  sum  of  which,  proposed  in  plain 
English,  is,  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  absolutely  and 
irrevocably  decreed,  that  '  some  men  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they  will, 
and  the  rest  damned,  do  what  they  can,'  has,  by  these  tracts,  been 
spread  throughout  the  land  with  the  utmost  diligence.  And  theee 
champions  of  it  have,  from  the  beginning,  proceeded  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  their  cause.  They  have  paid  no  more  regard  to  good-nature, 
decency,  or  good  manners,  than  to  reason  or  truth :  all  these  they  set 
utterly  at  defiance.  Without  any  deviation  from  their  plan,  they  have 
defended  their  dear  decrees,  with  arguments  worthy  of  Bedlam,  and 
with  language  worthy  of  Billingsgate." 

These  were  the  first  religious  journals  which  were  published  in  Eng- 
land. Since  that  time  every  denominatirn  of  dissenters,  down  to  the 
most  insignificant  subdivisions  of  schism,  has  had  its  magazine. 


Wesley's  credulity. 


233 


his  indiscriminate  credulity,  and  inserted,  without  scruple, 
and  without  reflection,  any  marvelous  tale  that  came  to  his 
hands.* 

♦  ["  Mr.  Wesley's  belief  in  these  visitations  is  no  proof  of  a  peculiar 
credulousness  of  mind.  On  this  he  thought  with  all,  except  the  ancient 
Atheists  and  Sadducees,  modern  infidels,  and  a  few  others,  who,  while 
in  this  point  they  agree  with  infidels,  most  inconsistently  profess  faith 
in  the  revelations  of  the  Scriptures.  Mr.  Southey  himself  can  not  attack 
Mr.  Wesley  on  the  general  principle,  since  he  gives  credit  to  the  ac- 
count of  the  disturbances  at  Epworth,  as  preternaturally  produced,  and 
thinks  that  some  dreams  are  the  results  of  more  than  natural  agency. 

"  How  then  does  the  author  prove  the  *  voracity  and  extravagance' 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  credulity  ?  Mr.  Southey  believes  in  one  ghost-story ; 
Mr.  Wesley  might  believe  in  twenty,  or  a  hundred.  Mr.  Southey  be- 
lieves in  a  few  preternatural  dreams,  say  some  four  or  five ;  Mr.  Wes- 
ley may  have  believed  in  twice  the  number.  This,  however,  proves 
nothing ;  for  credulity  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the  number  of  state- 
ments which  a  person  believes,  but  by  the  evidence  on  which  he  be- 
lieves them.  To  have  made  out  his  case,  Mr.  Southey  should  have 
shown  that  the  stories  which  he  presumes  Mr.  Wesley  to  have  credited, 
stood  on  insufficient  testimony.  He  has  not  touched  this  point ;  but 
he  deems  them  '  silly  and  monstrous  ;'  that  is,  he  judges  of  them  a  priori, 
and  thus  reaches  his  conclusion.  He  did  not,  however,  reflect,  that 
his  own  faith  in  ghosts  and  dreams,  as  far  as  it  goes,  will  be  deemed 
as  silly  and  monstrous  by  all  his  brother  philosophers,  as  the  faith 
which  goes  beyond  it.  Their  reasoning  concludes  as  fully  against 
what  he  credits,  as  against  what  Mr.  Wesley  credited;  and  on  the 
same  ground,  a  mere  opinion  of  what  is  reasonable  and  fitting,  they 
have  the  right  to  turn  his  censures  against  himself,  and  to  conclude  his 
credulity  'voracious,'  and  his  mind  disposed  to  superstition." — Rev. 
R.  Watson.] 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA.  WESLEY's  POLITICAL  CONDUCT. 

A  LITTLE  modification  might  have  rendered  Methodism 
a  most  useful  auxiliary  to  the  English  Church.  But  if 
some  such  auxiliary  power  was  needed  in  this  country, 
much  more  was  it  necessary  in  British  America,  where  the 
scattered  state  of  the  population  was  as  little  favorable  to 
the  interests  of  religion  as  of  government. 

In  the  New-England  States,  the  Puritans  had  estab- 
lished a  dismal  tyranny  of  the  priesthood  :  time  and  cir- 
cumstances had  mitigated  it ;  and  ecclesiastical  discipline, 
in  those  provinces,  seems  nearly  to  have  reached  its  desi- 
rable mean  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  : 
the  elders  no  longer  exercised  an  impertiaent  and  vexatious 
control  over  their  countrymen  :  they  retained,  however,  a 
wholesome  influence  ;  the  means  of  religious  instruction 
were  carefully  provided,  and  the  people  were  well  trained 
up  in  regular  and  pious  habits.  Too  little  attention  had 
been  paid  to  this  point  in  the  other  States  :  indeed  it  may 
be  said,  that  the  mother  country,  in  this  respect,  had  gross- 
ly neglected  one  of  its  first  and  most  important  duties 
toward  the  colonies.*  There  were  many  parts  in  the 
Southern  States,  of  which  the  frightful  picture  given  of 
them  by  Seeker,  when  Bishop  of  Oxford,  was  not  over- 

*  Franklin  gives  a  curious  anecdote  upon  this  subject,  in  one  of  his 
letters.  "  The  reverend  commissary  Blair,  who  projected  the  college 
in  the  province  of  Virginia,  and  was  in  England  to  sohcit  benefactions 
and  a  charter,  relates  that  the  queen  (Mary),  in  the  king's  absence, 
having  ordered  the  attorney-general  (Seymour)  to  draw  up  the  charter 
which  was  to  be  given,  with  £2000  in  money,  he  opposed  the  grant, 
saying  that  the  nation  was  engaged  in  an  expensive  war,  that  the 
money  was  wanted  for  better  purposes,  and  he  did  not  see  the  least 
occasion  for  a  college  in  Virginia.  Blair  represented  to  him,  that  its 
intention  was  to  educate  and  qualify  young  men  to  be  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  much  wanted  there ;  and  begged  5lr.  Attorney  would  consider 
that  the  people  of  Virginia  had  souls  to  be  saved,  as  well  as  the  people 
of  England.  Souls!  said  he,  damn  your  souls!  Make  tobacco!^' — 
Correspondeiice,  vol.  i.,  p.  158. 


METHODISM  IN   AMERICA.  235 

charged.  "  The  first  European  inhabitants,"  said  that 
prelate,  "  too  many  of  them  carried  but  little  sense  of 
Christianity  abroad  with  them.  A  great  part  of  the  rest 
suffered  it  to  wear  out  gradually,  and  their  children  grew, 
of  course,  to  have  yet  less  than  they,  till,  in  some  countries, 
there  were  scarce  any  footsteps  of  it  left  beyond  the  mere 
name.  No  teacher  was  known,  no  religious  assembly  was 
held  ;  the  sacrament  of  baptism  not  administered  for  near 
twenty  years  together,  nor  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper  for 
near  sixty,  among  many  thousands  of  people,  who  did  not 
deny  the  obligation  of  these  duties,  but  lived,  nevertheless, 
in  a  stupid  neglect  of  them."  To  remedy  this,  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  sent  out  missionaries 
from  time  to  time ;  but,  misdirecting  their  exertions,  for 
want  of  proper  inquiry,  or  proper  information,  they  em- 
ployed most  of  the  few  laborers  whom  they  could  find  in 
the  States  where  they  were  least  wanted,  and  in  places 
where  they  did  little  more  than  interfere  with  what  was  the 
established  system. 

Whitefield  had  contented  himself  with  the  immediate 
impression  which  he  produced.  The  person  who  first 
began  to  organize  Methodism  in  America  was  an  Irish- 
man, by  name  Philip  Embury,  who  had  been  a  local 
preacher  in  his  own  country.  Having  removed  to  New 
York,  he  collected  a  few  hearers,  first  in  his  own  house, 
and  when  their  number  increased,  in  a  large  room,  which 
they  rented  for  the  purpose.  Captain  Webb  happened  at 
this  time  to  be  in  America.  This  officer,  who  had  lost  an 
eye  in  the  battle  of  Quebec,  had  been  converted,  not  long 
after  that  event,  by  Mr.  Wesley's  preaching  at  Bristol,  and 
had  tried  his  own  talents  as  a  preacher  at  Bath,  when  some 
accident  prevented  the  itinerant  from  arriving,  whom  the 
congregation  had  assembled  to  hear.  Webb,  hearing  of 
Embury's  beginning,  paid  him  a  visit  from  Albany,  where 
he  then  held  the  appointment  of  barrack-master,  preached 
in  his  uniform,  attracted  auditors  by  the  novelty  of  such 
an  exhibition,  and  made  proselytes  by  his  zeal.  A  regular 
society  was  formed  in  the  year  1768,  and  they  resolved  to 
build  a  preaching-house. 

Wesley's  attention  had  already  been  invited  to  America. 
He  met  with  a  Swedish  chaplain,  who  had  spent  several 
years  in  Pennsylvania,  and  who  entreated  that  he  would 
send  out  preachers  to  help  him,  representing  what  multi- 
tudes in  that  country  were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 


236 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


Soon  afterward,  Captain  Webb  and  his  associates  wrote  to 
Mr.  Wesley,  informing  him  that  a  beginning  had  been 
made,  and  requesting  that  he  would,  at  the  ensuing  Con- 
ference, appoint  some  persons  to  come  over,  and  prosecute 
the  work  which  was  so  providentially  begun.  About  the 
same  time  thei  e  came  a  letter  from  a  certain  Thomas  Bell, 
at  Charlestown,  saying,  "  Mr.  Wesley  says,  the  first  mes- 
sage of  the  preachers  is  to  the  lost  sheep  of  England. 
And  are  there  none  in  America  ]  They  have  strayed 
from  England  into  the  wild  woods  here,  and  they  are  run- 
ning wild  after  this  world.  They  are  drinking  their  wine 
in  bowls,  and  are  jumping  and  dancing,  and  serving  the 
devil,  in  the  groves,  and  under  the  green  trees.  And  are 
not  these  lost  sheep  1  And  will  none  of  the  preachers 
come  here  ]  Where  is  Mr.  Brownfield  ]  Where  is  John 
Pawson  ]  Where  is  Nicholas  Manners  ]  Are  they  living, 
and  will  they  not  come  V 

Pawson  would  not  go ;  because,  he  said,  he  did  not  see 
that  it  could  be  his  duty  to  leave  his  parents,  who  were 
then  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  followed  his  heart  in 
this,  and  was  right.  Pawson,  indeed,  was  in  his  proper 
sphere  :  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  in  him  had  settled  into  a 
steady  vital  heat,  and  there  were  younger  men  for  the 
work,  Richard  Boardman  and  Joseph  Pillmoor  volun- 
teered, at  the  next  Conference,  for  the  service ;  and  as  the 
New  York  Methodists  had  contracted  a  debt  by  their 
building,  the  Connection  sent  them  fifty  pounds  by  these 
preachers,  as  a  token  of  brotherly  love.  They  landed  at 
Philadelphia,  where  Captain  Webb  had  already  formed  a 
society  of  about  a  hundred  members.  Pillmoor  proceeded 
to  Maryland  and  Virginia,  Boardman  to  New  York  :  both 
sent  home  flattering  accounts  of  their  success,  and  of  the 
prospect  before  them  ;  so  that  Wesley  himself  began  to 
think  of  following  them  :  "  but,"  said  he,  "  the  way  is  not 
plain ;  I  wait  till  Providence  shall  speak  more  clearly,  on 
one  side  or  the  other."  In  1771,  he  says,  "My  call  to 
America  is  not  yet  clear.  I  have  no  business  there,  as 
long  as  they  can  do  without  me  :  at  present  I  am  a  debtor 
to  the  people  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  especially  to 
them  that  believe."  That  year,  therefore,  he  sent  over 
Richard  Wright  and  Francis  Asbury,  the  latter  of  whom 
proved  not  inferior  to  himself  in  zeal,  activity,  and  perse- 
verance. Asbury  perceived  that  his  ministry  was  more 
needed  in  the  villages  and  scattered  plantations  than  in 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


237 


large  towns  ;  and  he  therefore  devoted  himself  to  country 
service.  In  1773,  Thomas  Rankin  and  George  Shadford 
were  sent  to  assist  their  brethren  :  by  this  time  they  had 
raised  a  few  recruits  among  the  Americans  ;  and  holding  a 
Conference  at  Philadelphia,  it  appeared,  by  their  muster- 
rolls,  that  there  were  about  a  thousand  members  in  the 
different  societies. 

These  preachers  produced  a  considerable  effect ;  and 
Methodism  would  have  increased  even  more  rapidly  than 
in  England,  if  its  progress  had  not  been  interrupted  by  the 
rebellion.  At  the  commencement  of  the  disputes  which 
led  to  that  unhappy  and  ill  managed  contest,  Mr.  Wesley 
was  disposed  to  doubt  whether  the  measures  of  government 
were  defensible  :  but  when  the  conduct  of  the  revolutionists 
became  more  violent,  and  their  intentions  were  unmasked, 
he  saw  good  cause  for  altering  his  opinion,  and  published 
A  Calm  Address  to  the  Americans,"  examining  the  ques- 
tion, whether  the  English  Parliament  had  power  to  tax  the 
colonies.  In  this  little  pamphlet  he  pursued  the  same 
chain  of  reasoning  as  Dr.  Johnson  had  done,  and  main- 
tained that  the  supreme  power  in  England  had  a  legal 
right  of  laying  any  tax  upon  them,  for  any  end  beneficial 
to  the  whole  empire.  The  right  of  taxation,  he  argued, 
rested  upon  the  same  ground  as  the  right  of  legislation  : 
and  the  popular  argument,  that  every  freeman  consented 
to  the  laws  by  which  he  was  governed,  was  a  mere  fallacy. 
A  very  small  part  of  the  people  were  concerned  in  making 
laws  ;  that  business  could  only  be  done  by  delegation  : 
those  who  were  not  electors  had  manifestly  no  part ;  and 
of  those  who  were,  when  their  votes  were  nearly  equally 
divided,  the  minority  were  governed,  not  only  without,  but 
against  their  own  consent.  So  much  with  regard  to  the 
laws  which  were  enacted  in  their  own  times  :  and  how 
could  it  be  said  that  any  man  had  consented  to  those  which 
were  made  before  he  was  born  ]  In  fact,  consent  to  the 
laws  was  purely  passive,  and  no  other  kind  of  consent  was 
allowed  by  the  condition  of  civil  life.  The  Americans  had 
not  forfeited  the  rights  of  their  forefathers,  but  they  could 
no  longer  exercise  them.  They  were  the  descendants  of 
men  who  either  had  no  votes,  or  who  had  resigned  them 
by  emigration.  They  had,  therefore,  exactly  what  their 
ancestors  left  them  :  not  a  vote  in  making  laws,  nor  in 
choosing  legislators  ;  but  the  happiness  of  being  protected 
by  laws,  and  the  duty  of  obeying  them.    During  the  last 


238 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


war,  they  had  been  attacked  by  enemies,  whom  they  were 
not  able  to  resist:  they  had  been  largely  assisted,  and,  by 
that  means,  wholly  delivered  :  the  mother  country,  desiring 
to  be  reimbursed  for  some  part  of  the  great  expense  she 
had  incurred,  laid  on  a  small  tax,  and  this  reasonable  and 
legal  measure  had  set  all  America  in  a  flame.  How  was 
it  possible  that  such  a  cause  should  have  produced  such  an 
effect? 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  said  Wesley.  I  speak  the  more 
freely,  because  I  am  unbiased.  I  have  nothing  to  hope 
or  fear  on  either  side.  I  gain  nothing,  either  by  the  gov- 
ernment or  by  the  Americans,  and  probably  never  shall ; 
and  I  have  no  prejudice  to  any  man  in  America:  I  love 
you  as  my  brethren  and  countrymen.  My  opinion  is  this  : 
we  have  a  few  men  in  England  who  are  determined  ene- 
mies to  monarchy.  Whether  they  hate  his  present  Majesty 
on  any  other  ground  than  because  he  is  a  king,  I  know  not ; 
but  they  cordially  hate  his  office,  and  have  for  some  years 
been  undermining  it  with  all  diligence,  in  hopes  of  erecting 
their  grand  idol,  their  dear  commonwealth,  upon  its  ruins. 
I  believe  they  have  let  very  few  into  their  design  (although 
many  forward  it,  without  knowing  any  thing  of  the  matter) ; 
but  they  are  steadily  pursuing  it,  as  by  various  other  means, 
so,  in  particular,  by  inflammatory  papers,  which  are  indus- 
triously and  continually  dispersed  throughout  the  towns 
and  country.  By  this  method  they  have  already  wrought 
thousands  of  the  people  even  to  the  pitch  of  madness.  By 
the  same,  only  varied  according  to  your  circumstances, 
they  have  likewise  inflamed  America.  I  make  no  doubt 
but  these  very  men  are  the  original  cause  of  the  present 
breach  between  England  and  her  colonies.  And  they  are 
still  pouring  oil  into  the  flame,  studiously  incensing  each 
against  the  other,  and  opposing,  under  a  variety  of  pre- 
tenses, all  measures  of  accommodation.  So  that  although 
the  Americans,  in  general,  love  the  English,  and  the  En- 
glish, in  general,  love  the  Americans  (all,  I  mean,  that  are 
not  yet  cheated  and  exasperated  by  these  artful  men),  yet 
the  rupture  is  growing  wider  every  day,  and  none  can  tell 
where  it  can  end.  These  good  men  hope  it  will  end  in 
the  total  defection  of  North  America  from  England.  If 
this  were  effected,  they  trust  the  English  in  general  would 
be  so  irreconcilably  disgusted,  that  they  should  be  able, 
with  or  without  foreign  assistance,  entirely  to  Qverturn  the 
government." 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


239 


Mr.  Wesley  afterward  perceived,  that  the  class  of  per- 
sons whom  he  had  here  supposed  to  be  the  prime  movers 
of  this  unhappy  contest,  were  only  aiders  and  abettors,  and 
that  the  crisis  had  come  on  from  natural  causes.  '*  I  allow,'* 
said  he,  *'  that  the  Americans  were  strongly  exhorted,  by 
letters  from  England,  '  never  to  yield,  or  lay  down  their 
arms,  till  they  had  their  own  terms,  which  the  government 
would  be  constrained  to  give  them  in  a  short  time.'  But 
those  measures  were  concerted  long  before  this — long  be- 
fore either  the  Tea  Act  or  the  Stamp  Act  existed,  only 
they  were  not  digested  into  form.  Forty  years  ago,  when 
my  brother  was  in  Boston,  it  was  the  general  language 
there,  *  We  must  shake  off  the  yoke ;  we  never  shall  be  a 
free  people  till  we  shake  off  the  English  yoke  :'  and  the 
late  acts  of  parliament  were  not  the  cause  of  what  they 
have  since  done,  but  barely  the  occasion  they  laid  hold  on." 
That  the  American  revolution  must  in  great  part  be  traced 
to  the  puritanical  origin  of  the  New-England  States,  is 
indeed  certain  :  but  colonies  are  naturally  republican  ;  and 
when  they  are  far  distant,  and  upon  a  large  scale,  they 
tend  necessarily,  as  well  as  naturally,  to  separation.  Colo- 
nies will  be  formed  with  a  view  to  this,  when  colonial  policy 
shall  be  better  understood.  It  will  be  acknowledged,  that 
when  protection  is  no  longer  needed,  dependence  ceases  to 
be  desirable  ;  and  that  when  a  people  can  maintain  and 
defend  themselves,  they  are  past  their  pupilage. 

This  address  excited  no  little  indignation  among  some 
of  the  English  partisans  of  the  Americans  ;  and  it  pro- 
duced a  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley  from  Mr.  Caleb  Evans,  a 
Baptist  minister  at  Bristol,  of  considerable  reputation  in 
his  own  community.  Wesley,  who  had  neither  leisure 
nor  inclination  for  controversy,  left  the  field  to  Mr.  Fletch- 
er, who  again,  on  this  occasion,  seconded  his  friend  with 
great  ability,  as  well  as  zeal.  **  My  reverence  for  God's 
word,"  said  this  good  man, — "  my  duty  to  the  king,  and 
regard  for  my  friend, — my  love  to  injured  truth,  and  the 
consciousness  of  the  sweet  liberty  which  I  enjoy  under  the 
government,  call  for  this  little  tribute  of  my  pen  ;  and  I 
pay  it  so  much  the  more  cheerfully,  as  few  men  in  the 
kingdom  have  had  a  better  opportunity  of  trying  which  is 
most  eligible,  a  republican  government  or  the  mild-tem- 
pered monarchy  of  England.  I  lived  more  than  twenty 
years  the  subject  of  two  of  the  mildest  republics  of  Europe : 
I  have  been  for  above  that  number  of  years  the  subject  of 


240 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


your  sovereign  ;  and,  from  sweet  experience,  I  can  set  my 
seal  to  this  clause  of  the  king's  speech,  at  the  opening  of 
this  session  of  parliament,  'To  be  a  subject  of  Great 
Britain,  with  all  its  consequences,  is  to  be  the  happiest 
subject  of  any  civil  government  in  the  world.*  " 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  no  common  controversialist  :  earnest 
sincerity,  and  devout  ardor,  were  not  more  conspicuous  in 
his  writings,  than  the  benevolence  which  appeared  when 
he  argued  with  most  force  and  warmth,  and  the  pure  can- 
dor and  religious  charity  which  even  his  theological  oppo- 
nents felt  and  acknowledged.  He,  as  well  as  IVIi'.  Wesley, 
saw  distinctly  in  what  the  principles  of  the  American  con- 
test began,  and  in  what  they  were  likely  to  end.  "  If 
once  legislation,"  he  said,  with  Baxter,  *'  (the  chief  act  of 
government)  be  denied  to  be  any  part  of  government  at 
all,  and  affirmed  to  belong  to  the  people  as  such,  who  are 
no  governors,  all  government  will  thereby  be  overthrown. 
Give  me,"  he  truly  said,  "  Dr.  Price's  political  principles, 
and  I  will  move  all  kings  out  of  their  thrones,  and  all  sub- 
jection out  of  the  world."  He  rested  the  question  upon 
religious  grounds,  and,  on  those  grounds,  argued  against 
civil,  as  he  had  formerly  done  against  ecclesiastical  Anti- 
nomianism.  The  transition  from  one  to  the  other,  he  said, 
was  easy  and  obvious  ;  for  as  he  that  reverences  the  law 
of  God  will  naturally  reverence  the  just  commands  of  the 
king,  so  he  that  thinks  himself  free  from  the  law  of  the 
Lord  will  hardly  think  himself  bound  by  the  statutes  of  his 
sovereign.  He  traced  the  pestilent  errors  which  were  now 
again  beginning  to  prevail,  after  having  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury been  subdued,  to  those  seeds  which  had  sprung  up  with 
the  Lollards,  and  brought  forth  their  full  harvest  at  Mun- 
ster.*    He  pressed  upon  his  opponent,  as  a  Christian,  those 

*  "  All  our  danger  at  present,"  says  he,  "  is  from  King  Mob ;  and 

(pursuing  Mr.  Wesley's  view  of  the  subject)  this  danger  is  so  much  the 
greater,  as  some  dissenters  among  us,  who  were  quiet  in  the  late  reign, 
and  thought  themselves  happy  under  the  protection  of  the  Toleration 
Act,  grow  restless,  begin  openly  to  countenance  their  dissatisfied  breth- 
ren in  America,  and  make  it  a  point  of  conscience  to  foment  divisions 
in  the  kingdom.  Whether  they  do  it  merely  from  a  brotherly  regard 
to  the  colonists,  who  chiefly  worship  God  according  to  the  dissenting 
plan,  or  whether  they  hope  that  a  revolution  on  the  Continent  would 
be  naturally  productive  of  a  revolution  in  England ;  that  a  revolution 
in  the  State,  here,  would  draw  after  it  ?  revolution  in  the  Church  ;  and 
that  if  the  Church  of  England  were  once  shaken,  the  dissenting  churches 
among  us  might  raise  themselves"  upon  her  ruins ; — whether,  I  say, 
there  is  something  of  this  imder  the  cry  of  slavery  and  robbery,  which 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


241 


texts  of  Scriptu7*e  which  enjoin  the  duty  of  submission  to 
estabUshed  authorities  ;  and,  as  a  Calvinist,  the  articles  of 
Calvin's  confession  of  faith,  wherein  that  duty  is  expressly 
recognized.  "  We  believe  that  God  will  have  the  world 
to  be  governed  by  laws  and  civil  powers,  that  the  lawless 
inclinations  of  men  may  be  curbed ;  and  therefore  he  has 
established  kingdoms  and  republics,  and  other  sorts  of  gov- 
ernments (some  hereditary,  and  some  otherwise),  together 
with  whatsoever  belongs  to  judicature  ;  and  He  will  be 
acknowledged  the  author  of  government.  We  ought,  then, 
not  only  to  bear,  for  his  sake,  that  rulers  should  have  do- 
minion over  us  ;  but  it  is  also  our  bounden  duty  to  honor 
them,  and  to  esteem  them  worthy  of  all  reverence,  consid- 
ering them  as  God's  lieutenants  and  officers,  which  He  has 
commissioned  to  execute  a  lawful  and  holy  commission. 
We  maintain,  therefore,  that  we  are  bound  to  obey  their 
laws  and  statutes,  to  pay  tribute,  taxes,  and  other  duties, 
and  to  bear  the  yoke  of  subjection  freely  and  with  good- 
will ;  and  therefore  we  detest  the  men  who  reject  superi- 
orities, introduce  community  and  confusion  of  property, 
and  overthrow  the  order  of  justice.  Sir,"  he  continued, 
applying  the  argumentum  ad  hominem  to  his  opponent, 
**  you  ai-e  a  Calvinist ;  you  follow  the  French  reformer, 
when  he  teaches  the  absolute  reprobation,  and  unavoidable 
damnation,  of  myriads  of  poor  creatures  yet  unborn.  Oh, 
forsake  him  not,  when  he  follows  Christ,  and  teachcis  that 
God  (not  the  people)  is  to  be  acknowledged  the  duthor  of 
power  and  government,  and  that  we  are  kound  to  bear 
cheerfully,  for  his  sake,  the  yoke  of  scriptural  subjection  to 
our  governors!  Be  entreated,  sir.  co  rectify  your  false 
notions  of  liberty.  The  liberty  <>t  Christians  and  Britons 
does  not  consist  in  bearing  no  yoke,  but  in  bearing  a  yoke 
made  easy  by  a  gracious  Savior  and  a  gracious  sovereign. 
A  John  of  Ley  den  may  promise  to  make  us  first  lawless, 
then  legislators  an^i  kings  ;  and,  by  his  delusive  promises, 
he  may  raise  to — a  fool's  paradise,  if  not  to — the  gal- 
lows. But  true  deliverer,  and  a  good  goveraor,  says  to 
our  restl<iss  Antinomian  spirits.  Come  unto  me,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest!    For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is 

you  set  up,  is  a  question  (addressing  himself  to  Mr.  Caleb  Evans) 
which  I  said,  in  the  preceding  editions,  you  could  determine  far  better 
than  I :  but  now  I  recall  it ;  because,  though  I  may  consider  that  part 
of  the  controversy  in  that  unfavorable  light  as  a  politician,  yet,  as  u 
Christian,  I  ought  to  think  and  hope  the  best." 
VOL.  II.  L 


242 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


light.  We  can  have  no  rest  in  the  Church,  but  under 
Christ's  easy  yoke  ;  no  rest  in  the  state,  but  under  the 
easy  yoke  of  our  rightful  sovereign." 

The  political  part  which  Wesley  took  at  this  time  made 
him  as  many  enemies  as  his  decided  opposition  to  Calvin- 
ism had  done  :  and  even  some  of  his  adherents  and  admir- 
ers, who  in  all  other  things  have  justified  him  through  thick 
and  thin,  have  censured  him,  as  if  he  had  gone  out  of  the 
line  of  his  duty,  acted  unwisely  in  meddling  with  political 
disputes,  and  taken  the  wrong  side.  To  the  question,  why 
he  had  written  upon  such  subjects,  he  made  answer,  "  Not 
to  get  money  :  not  to  get  preferment  for  myself  or  my 
brother's  children  :  not  to  please  any  man  living,  high  or 
low.  I  know  mankind  too  well.  I  know  they  that  love 
you  for  political  service,  love  you  less  than  their  dinners  ; 
and  they  who  hate  you,  hate  you  worse  than  the  devil." 
It  was  from  the  clear  and  strong  sense  of  duty  that  he 
acted  ;  and  it  is  not  the  least  of  his  merits,  that  he  was  one 
of  the  first  persons  to  expose  the  fallacy,  and  foresee  the 
consequences,  of  those  political  principles  which  were  then 
beginning  to  convulse  the  world.  Their  natural  tendency, 
he  said,  was  to  unhinge  all  government,  and  to  plunge 
every  nation  into  total  anarchy.  In  his  Observations  on 
Liberty,  addressed  to  Dr.  Price,  in  answer  to  a  pamphlet 
of  the  doctor's,  which  did  its  share  of  mischief  in  its  day, 
he  contradicted,  upon  his  own  sure  observation,  the  doc- 
tor's absu-rd  assertion,  that  the  population  of  the  country 
had  greatly  do^reased  :*  he  commented  upon  the  encour- 

*  "I  knew  the  contrc^^"  said  Weslev,  "ha\-ing  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  ten  times  more  ol  T^iorlaud  even-  vear  than  most  men  in  the 
nation.  All  our  manufacturing  towns,  as'  Birmingham,  Sheffield,  Man- 
chester, Liverpool,  increase  daily.  So  do  very  many  villages  all  over 
the  kingdom,  even  in  the  mountains  of  Derbyshire  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  exceeding  few,  either  towns  or  villages,  decrease." 

"  Dr.  Price,"  says  Mr.  Coleridge,  in  i^^s  P^eud,  "  almost  succeeded 
in  persuading  the  English  nation— (for  it  a  curious  fact,  that  the 
fancy  of  our  calamitous  situation  is  a  sort  of  uece»iary  sauce,  without 
which  our  real  prosperity  would  become  insipid  to  — Dr.  Price.  I 
say,  alarmed  the  country  \\-ith  pretended  proofs  that  the  V-land  was  in 
a  rapid  state  of  depopulation ;  that  England  at  the  Revolution  \,ad  been 
Heaven  knows  how  much  more  populous ;  and  that,  in  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's time,  or  about  the  Reformation  (  !  !  ! ),  the  number  of  inhaDi- 
tants  in  England  might  have  been  greater  than  even  at  the  Revolution. 
My  old  mathematical  master,  a  man  of  an  uncommonly  clear  head, 
answered  this  blundei-ing  book  of  the  worthy  doctor's,  and  left  not  a 
Btone  untamed  of  the  pompous  cenotaph,  in  which  the  effigy  of  the  still 
living  and  bustling  Enghsh  prosperity  lay  interred.    And  yet  so  much 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


243 


agement  which  was  held  out  to  the  Americans,  in  that  pam- 
phlet, and  upon  the  accusations  which  were  there  advanced, 
that  the  British  government  had  secured  to  the  Canadians 
the  enjoyment  of  their  own  laws,  and  their  own  religion, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  up  from  thence  an  army  of 
French  Papists, — for  Dr.  Price  had  not  been  ashamed  to 
bring  this  charge  against  his  country  !  In  opposition  to 
the  doctor's  position,  that  liberty  is  more  or  less  complete, 
according  as  the  people  have  more  or  less  share  in  the 
government,  he  contended,  and  appealed  to  history  for  the 
fact,  that  the  greater  share  the  people  have  in  the  govern- 
ment, the  less  liberty,  either  civil  or  religious,  does  the 
nation  in  general  enjoy.  *'  Accordingly,"  said  he,  "  there 
is  most  liberty  of  all,  civil  and  religious,  under  a  limited 
monarchy  ;  there  is  usually  less  under  an  aristocracy  ;  and 
least  of  all  under  a  democracy.  The  plain,  melancholy 
truth,"  said  he,  *'  is  this ;  there  is  a  general  infatuation, 
which  spreads,  like  an  overflowing  stream,  from  one  end 
of  the  land  to  the  other.  The  people  of  England  have, 
for  some  years  past,  been  continually  fed  with  poison  : 
dose  after  dose  has  been  administered  to  them — for  fear 
the  first,  or  second,  or  tenth  should  not  suffice — of  a  poison, 
whose  natural  effect  is  to  drive  men  out  of  their  senses. 
Is  the  Centaur  not  fabulous  'i  Neither  is  Circe's  cup. 
Papers  and  pamphlets,  representing  one  of  the  best  of 
princes  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  the  worst, — and  all  aim- 
ing at  the  same  point,  to  make  the  king  appear  odious,  as 
well  as  contemptible,  in  the  eyes  of  his  subjects, — are  con- 
veyed, week  after  week,  through  all  London,  and  all  the 
nation.  Can  any  man  wonder  at  the  effect  1  What  can 
be  expected,  but  that  they  who  drink  in  these  papers  and 
letters  with  all  greediness,  will  be  thoroughly  imbittered 
and  inflamed  thereby;  will  first  despise,  and  then  abhor 
the  king?  What  can  be  expected,  but  that,  by  the  re- 
peated doses  of  this  poison,  they  v^dll  be  perfectly  intoxi- 
cated, and  only  wait  for  a  convenient  season  to  tear  in 
pieces  the  royal  monster,  as  they  think  him,  and  all  his  ad- 
herents !  Can  any  thing  be  done  to  open  the  eyes,  to 
restore  the  senses,  of  an  infatuated  nation  ?  Not  unless 
the  still  renewed,  still  operating  cause  of  that  infatuation 

more  suitable  was  the  doctor's  book  to  the  purposes  of  faction,  and  to 
the  November  mood  of  (what  is  called)  the  PuBr.ic,  that  Mr.  Wales's 
pamphlet,  though  a  master-piece  of  perspicacity,  as  well  as  perspicuity, 
was  scarcely  heard  of." — Vol.  ii.,  p.  72. 


244 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


can  be  removed.  But  how  is  it  possible  to  be  removed, 
unless  by  restraining  the  licentiousness  of  the  press  V*  "  I 
am  in  great  earnest,"  he  says,  in  another  place  :  "  so  I 
have  need  to  be  ;  for  I  am  pleading  the  cause  of  my  king 
and  country ;  yea,  of  every  country  under  heaven,  where 
there  is  any  regular  government.  I  am  pleading  against 
those  principles  that  naturally  tend  to  anarchy  and  con- 
fusion, that  directly  tend  to  unhinge  all  government,  and 
overturn  it  from  the  foundation." 

Forty  thousand  copies  of  the  Calm  Address  were  print- 
ed in  three  weeks  :  it  was  written  before  the  war  had  actu- 
ally begun  ;  and  excited  so  much  anger  among  the  English 
friends  of  the  Amencan  cause,  that,  as  he  said,  they  would 
willingly  have  burned  him  and  it  together.  But  though 
Wesley  maintained  that,  when  the  principles  of  order  and 
legitimate  government  were  seditiously  attacked,  it  was 
the  duty  of  every  Christian  minister  to  exert  himself  in  op- 
posing the  evil  spirit  of  the  times,  he  saw  how  imprudent 
it  would  be  for  his  preachers  in  America  to  engage  in  po- 
litical matters.  "  It  is  your  part,"  said  he,  "  to  be  peace- 
makers ;  to  be  loving  and  tender  to  all,  but  to  addict  your- 
selves to  no  party.  In  spite  of  all  solicitations,  of  rough  or 
smooth  words,  say  not  one  word  against  one  or  the  other 
side-  keep  yourselves  pure;  do  all  you  can  to  help  and 
soften  all ;  but  *  beware  how  you  adopt  another's  jar.'  " 
In  the  same  spirit  Charles  Wesley  wrote  to  them,  saying, 
**  As  to  the  public  affairs,  I  wish  you  to  be  like-minded 
with  me.  I  am  of  neither  side,  and  yet  of  both  :  on  the 
one  side  of  New  England,  and  of  Old.  Private  Christians 
are  excused,  exempted,  privileged  to  take  no  part  in  civil 
troubles.  IVe  love  all,  and  pray  for  all,  with  a  sincere  and 
impartial  love.  Faults  there  may  be  on  both  sides,  but 
such  as  neither  you  nor  I  can  remedy  :  therefore  let  us, 
and  all  our  children,  give  ourselves  unto  prayer,  and  so 
stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God."  It  was  scarcely 
possible  for  the  preachers  to  follow  this  advice  ;  it  was 
scarcely  possible  that  they  could  refrain  from  expressing 
their  opinions  upon  the  one  subject  by  which  all  minds 
were  possessed  and  inflamed,  excited,  as  they  constantly 
were,  by  sympathy  or  provocation.  Such,  indeed,  was  the 
temper  of  the  Americans,  that  a  friend  to  the  Methodists 
got  possession  of  all  the  copies  of  the  Calm  Address  which 
were  sent  to  New  York,  and  destroyed  them,  foreseeing 
the  imminent  danger  to  which  the  preachers  would  be  ex- 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


245 


posed,  if  a  pamphlet  so  unpopular  in  its  doctrines  should 
get  abroad.  But  the  part  which  Wesley  had  taken  could 
not  be  kept  secret :  the  Methodists,  in  consequence,  be- 
came objects  of  suspicion,  and  the  personal  safety  of  the 
preachers  was  oftentimes  endangered.  Tarring  and  feather- 
ing was  not  the  only  cruelty  to  which  they  were  exposed  in 
those  days  of  brutal  violence.  The  English  missionaries 
were  at  length  glad  to  escape  as  they  could  :  Asbury  alone 
remained  ;  he  was  less  obnoxious  than  his  colleagues,  be- 
cause, having  chosen  the  less  frequented  parts  of  the  coun- 
try for  the  scene  of  his  exertions,  he  had  been  less  con- 
spicuous, and  less  exposed  to  provocation  and  to  danger. 
Yet  even  he  found  it  necessary  to  withdraw  from  public 
view,  and  conceal  himself  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  till,  after 
two  years  of  this  confinement,  he  obtained  credentials  from 
the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  which  enabled  him  to  ap- 
pear abroad  again  with  safety. 

Methodism,  meantime,  had  been  kept  alive  by  a  few  na- 
tive preachers,  of  whom  Freeborn  Garretson,  and  Benjamin 
Abbot,  a  strange  half-madman,  were  two  of  the  most  re- 
markable. It  even  increased,  notwithstanding  all  diffi- 
culties, and  something  much  more  like  persecution  than  it 
had  ever  undergone  in  England.  In  the  year  1777  there 
were  forty  preachers,  and  about  seven  thousand  members,  ✓ 
exclusive  of  negroes.  The  society,  however,  as  the  war 
continued,  was  in  danger  of  being  broken  up,  by  a  curious 
species  of  intolerance,  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen. 
The  prevailing  religion  in  the  Southern  States  had  been 
that  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  but  the  clergy  were  driven 
away  during  the  troubles ;  the  whole  of  the  Church  prop- 
erty was  confiscated ;  and,  when  affairs  were  settled,  none 
of  it  was  restored,  and  no  attempt  made,  either  by  the  gen- 
eral or  provincial  governments,  to  substitute  any  kind  of  re- 
ligious instruction  in  place  of  the  Establishment,  which  had 
been  destroyed  !  The  Methodists  had  hitherto  been  mem- 
bers of  the  English  Church  ;  but,  upon  the  compulsory  em- 
igration of  the  clergy,  they  found  themselves  deprived  of 
the  sacraments,  and  could  obtain  no  baptism  for  their 
children  ;  for  neither  the  Presbyterians,  the  Independents, 
or  Baptists  would  administer  these  ordinances  to  them,  un- 
less they  would  renounce  their  connection  with  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, and  join  with  their  respective  sects. 

Before  the  dispute  between  the  mother  country  and  the 
colonies  assumed  a  serious  character,  and  before  any  ap- 


246 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


prehension  of  separation  was  entertained  on  the  one  side, 
or  any  intention  to  that  effect  was  avowed  on  the  other,  the 
heads  of  the  Church  in  England  had  represented  to  gov- 
ernment how  greatly  it  would  conduce  to  the  interest  of 
religion,  in  America,  if  a  bishop  were  appointed  there. 
This  judicious  representation  was  unsuccessful ;  for  the 
ministers,  who  were  but  too  bold  in  trying  experiments  of 
another  kind  with  the  colonists,  thought  it  better  to  let  re- 
ligious affairs  remain  as  they  were,  than  to  introduce  any 
innovation.  If  this  had  been  done  half  a  century  earlier, 
as  soon  as  the  population  of  the  country  required  it,  it 
would  have  been  highly  beneficial  to  America  ;  part  of  the 
hierarchy  would  have  submitted  to,  or  taken  part  in  the 
Revolution,  and  thus  a  religious  establishment  might  have 
been  preserved  in  those  parts  of  the  United  States  where 
the  want  of  religious  instruction  is  severely  felt.*  The  ill 
consequences  of  an  omission  which,  whether  morally  or  po- 
litically considered,  is  equally  to  be  condemned,  were  now 
experienced.  Two  American  youths,  after  the  peace,  came 
to  England,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  episcopal  ordina- 
tion ;  but  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  of  opinion  that 
no  English  bishop  could  ordain  them,  unless  they  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  which  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  do. 
They  then  applied  for  advice  and  assistance  to  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, who  was  at  that  time  in  France.  Upon  consulting  a 
French  clergyman,  he  found  that  they  could  not  be  ordain- 
ed in  France,  unless  they  vowed  obedience  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris  ;  and  the  nuncio,  whom  he  consulted  also, 
informed  him  that  the  Romish  bishop  in  America  could  not 
lay  hands  on  them,  unless  they  turned  Catholics.  The  ad- 
vice, therefore,  which  they  received  from  a  man  like  Frank- 
lin may  easily  be  conjectured  :  it  was,  that  the  Episcopa- 
lian clergy  in  America  should  become  Presbyterians ;  or, 

*  I  have  somewhere  seen  it  stated  that,  in  the  large  town  of  Rich- 
mond, there  was  no  place  of  worship  til]  the  theater  took  fire  and  some 
four-score  persons  perished  in  the  flames.  Then  the  people  took  fright, 
and  built  a  church  upon  the  ruins.  A  lady,  who  published  an  account, 
in  verse,  of  her  residence  in  the  Southern  States,  describes,  with  much 
feeling,  her  emotion  at  hearing  a  church  clock  when  she  returned  to 
her  own  country :  "  a  sound,"  she  says,  "  I  had  not  heard  for  years." — 
[Mr.  Southey  confounds  the  absence  of  any  "church"  in  the  exclusive 
sense  of  bigoted  prelatists,  and  of  church  bells,  with  an  entire  want  of 
the  means  and  institutions  of  public  worship.  Had  he  been  better 
informed  as  to  facts,  he  would  have  been  saved  from  these  awkward 
blunders. — Am.  Ed.\ 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


247 


if  they  would  not  consent  to  this,  that  they  should  elect  a 
bishop  for  themselves. 

This  Jatter  course  some  of  the  American  Methodists  had 
already  adopted.  Finding  themselves  deprived  of  commu- 
nion, and  their  children  of  baptism,  they  applied  to  Asbury, 
whom  they  regarded  as  their  head,  to  adopt  some  means 
of  providing  for  these  ordinances.  Asbury  knew  not  how 
to  act,  and  advised  them  to  wait  till  circumstances  should 
prepare  the  way  for  what  they  wished.  It  was  not  likely 
that  they  should  follow  this  advice.  Breaking  off  their 
connection  with  him,  and  thereby  with  Mr.  Wesley,  they 
elected  three  of  their  elder  brethren  to  ordain  others  by 
imposition  of  hands.  Asbury,  however,  retained  so  much 
influence  that,  at  a  subsequent  conference,  this  ordination 
was  declared  to  be  unscriptural.  The  schism  was  healed 
just  as  the  peace  was  made ;  and,  as  soon  as  a  communi- 
cation was  opened  with  England,  he  sent  a  representation 
of  the  case  to  Wesley.  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  convinced, 
by  the  perusal  of  Lord  King's  Account  of  the  Primitive 
Church,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the  same  order. 
Men  are  sometimes  easily  convinced  of  what  they  find  it 
convenient  or  agreeable  to  believe.  Regarding  the  apos- 
tolical succession  as  a  fable,  he  thought,  when  this  applica- 
tion from  America  arrived,  that  the  best  thing  which  he 
could  do  would  be  to  secure  the  Wesleyan  succession  for 
the  United  States.* 

This  step,  however,  was  not  taken  without  some  demur, 
and  a  feeling  that  it  required  some  justification  to  himself, 

*  [Though  Mr.  Southey  evidently  intends  to  give  a  correct  account 
of  the  affairs  of  which  he  treats,  yet  he  strikes  wide  of  the  truth  in  sev- 
eral particulars.  In  the  first  place,  the  ministers  who  elected  some  of 
their  own  number  to.  ordain  their  brethren,  by  imposition  of  hands,  did 
not  break  off  their  connection  with  Mr.  Asbury,  as  is  sufficiently  shown 
by  their  attending  the  next  Conference.  The  question  was  one  of  ex- 
pediency only,  for  he  did  not  pretend  that  they  acted  in  contravention 
of  any  law  in  so  doing.  Again,  this  ordination  was  not  declared  to  be 
unscriptural,  but  its  scriptural  validity  was  insisted  upon  to  the  last ; 
but,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  the  ministers  who  had  been  thus  ordained 
agreed  to  desist  from  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  as  ordained  minis- 
ters, for  one  year ;  and,  before  that  period  had  transpired,  the  whole 
difficulty  was  obviated  by  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  insinuation  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  convinced  by  Lord 
King,  because  the  conviction  was  convenient,  is  quite  out  of  place. 
That  conviction  had  taken  place,  and  was  recorded  by  Mr.  Wesley,  in 
his  Journal,  forty  years  before;  against  violent  prejudices  to  the  contra- 
ry opinion,  and  when  there  was  not  the  most  distant  prospect  to  human 
foresight  that  it  would  ever  becoioe   convenient"  in  practice — Am. 


248 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


as  well  as  to  the  world.  It  appears  that  some  of  his  friends 
advised  an  application  to  the  bishops,  requesting  them  to 
ordain  preachers  for  America.  Wesley  was  not  aware  of 
the  legal  impediment  to  this  :  but  he  replied,  that,  on  a 
former  application  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  his  request 
had  been  unsuccessful ;  that  if  the  bishops  would  consent, 
their  proceedings  were  notoriously  slow,  and  this  matter 
admitted  of  no  delay.  "  If  they  would  ordain  them  now," 
he  continued,  "  they  would  expect  to  govern  them ;  and 
how  grievously  would  this  entangle  us  !  As  our  American 
brethren  are  now  totally  disentangled,  both  from  the  state 
and  the  English  hierarchy,  we  dare  not  entangle  them 
again,  either  with  the  one  or  the  other.  They  are  now  at 
full  liberty  simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primi- 
tive church  ;  and  we  judge  it  best  that  they  should  stand 
fast  in  that  liberty  wherewith  God  has  so  strangely  made 
them  free."  Having,  therefore,  determined  how  to  act,  he 
communicated  his  determination  to  Dr.  Coke,  and  pro- 
posed, in  his  character  of  presbyter,  which,  he  said,  was 
the  same  as  bishop,  to  invest  him  with  the  same  presbytero- 
episcopal  powers,  that,  in  that  character,  he  might  proceed 
to  America,  and  superintend  the  societies  in  the  United 
States.  The  doubts  which  Dr.  Coke  entertained  as  to  the 
vahdity  of  Mr.  Wesley's  authority,  were  removed  by  the 
same  treatise  which  had  convinced  Mr.  Wesley  ;  and  it 
seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  either  the  one  or  the  other, 
that,  if  presbyter  and  bishop  were  the  same  order,  the 
proposed  consecration  was  useless;  for  Dr.  Coke,  having 
been  regularly  ordained,  was  as  good  a  bishop  as  Mr. 
Wesley  himself.* 

*  [As  to  ministerial,  or  rather  ecclesiastical  order,  they  w^ere  indeed 
equals  ;  but  Mr.  Wesley  was  also  the  actual  head  of  the  Methodist 
Societies  (which  societies  in  America  were  about  to  assume  the  char- 
acter of  perfectly  organized  churches),  and  was  therefore  possessed  of, 
and  of  course  could  confer,  an  authority  which  Dr.  Coke  had  no  right 
to  by  \'irtue  of  his  former  ordination.  Mr.  Wesley  also  acted  in  conjunc 
tion  with  other  presbyters,  and  so  the  authority  of  a  presVjytery,  which 
may  be  a.ssumed  to  be  above  that  of  any  individual  presbyter,  was 
exercised  in  that  appointment.  A  parallel  case  is  recorded  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  where  it  is  related  of  the  elders  of  the  church  at  Antioch, 
that  when  about  to  send  out  Barnabas  and  Saul,  on  a  special  mission, 
though  they  had  been  accredited  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  yet  were  they 
formally  ordained  for  that  particular  work.  They  were  not  raised  to 
another  grade  in  the  ministry  by  this  act,  but  simply  "  separated"  to 
that  particular  mission.  So  Dr.  Coke  was  not  raised  to  "  a  third  order," 
but  he  was  solemnly  appointed  to  the  supei-vision  of  the  Methodiht 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


249 


Having,  however,  taken  his  part,  he  stated  the  reasons 
upon  wliich  he  had  acted,  with  his  wonted  perspicuity. 
•*  By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  providences,"  he  said, 
**  many  of  the  provinces  of  North  America  are  totally  dis- 
joined from  the  mother  country,  and  erected  into  inde- 
pendent states.  The  English  government  has  no  authority 
over  them,  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  any  more  than 
over  the  States  of  Holland.  A  civil  authority  is  exercised 
over  them,  partly  by  the  congress,  partly  by  the  provincial 
assemblies  ;  but  no  one  either  exercises  or  claims  any 
ecclesiastical  authority  at  all.  In  this  peculiar  situation, 
some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  states  desire  my 
advice."  Then  asserting  his  opinion,  that  bishops  and 
presbyters  were  the  same  order,  and  consequently  had  the 
same  right  to  ordain,  he  said  that  for  many  years  he  had 
been  importuned  from  time  to  time  to  exercise  this  right, 
by  ordaining  part  of  the  traveling  preachers,  and  that  he 
had  still  refused,  for  peace  sake,  and  because  he  was  de- 
termined as  little  as  possible  to  violate  the  established 
order  of  the  National  church,  to  which  he  belonged.  "  But 
the  case,"  he  pursued,  *'  is  widely  different  between  Eng- 
land and  North  America.  Here  there  are  bishops,  who 
have  a  legal  jurisdiction.  In  America  there  are  none, 
neither  any  parish  ministers ;  so  that,  for  some  hundreds 
of  miles  together,  there  is  none  either  to  baptize  or  to 
administer  the  Lord's  Supper.  Here,  therefore,  my  scru- 
ples are  at  an  end  :  and  I  conceive  myself  at  full  liberty, 
as  I  violate  no  order,  and  invade  no  man's  right,  by  ap- 
pointing and  sending  laborers  into  the  harvest." 

Accordingly,  he  summoned  Dr.  Coke  to  Bristol,  and  Mr. 
Creighton  with  him,  a  clergyman  who  had  become  a  regu- 
lar member  of  the  Methodist  Connection.  With  their  as- 
sistance he  ordained  Richard  Whatcoat  and  Thomas  Vasey 
presbyters  for  America;  and  afterward  he  ordained  Dr. 
Coke  superintendent.  Some  reason  might  have  been  ex- 
pected why  he  thought  this  second  ordination  necessary, 
superintendent  being  but  another  word  for  bishop  ;  and 
why  he  thus  practically  contradicted  the  very  principle 
upon  which  he  prbfessed  to  act.  Not  stopping  to  discuss 
such  niceties,  he  gave  the  doctor  letters  of  ordination,  under 
his  hand  and  seal,  in  these  words ;  "  To  all  to  whom  these 

Societies,  with  instructions  to  complete  their  organization  as  a  church. 
The  worst  that  can  be  said  of  this  procedure  is  that  it  was  tmusual.— 
Am.  Ed.] 

L* 


250 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


presents  shall  come,  John  Wesley,  late  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College  in  Oxford,  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England, 
sendeth  greeting:  Whereas  many  of  the  people  in  the 
southern  provinces  of  North  America,  who  desire  to  con- 
tinue under  my  care,  and  still  adhere  to  the  doctrine  and 
discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  are  greatly  distressed 
for  want  of  ministers  to  administer  the  sacraments  of  Bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
same  Church ;  and  whereas  there  does  not  appear  to  be 
any  other  way  of  supplying  them  with  ministers — Know 
all  men,  that  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  to  be  provi- 
dentially called,  at  this  time,  to  set  apart  some  persons  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry  in  America.  And  therefore, 
under  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  with  a  single 
eye  to  his  glory,  I  have  this  day  set  apart,  as  a  superin- 
tendent, by  the  imposition  of  my  hands  and  prayer  (being 
assisted  by  other  ordained  ministers),  Thomas  Coke,  Doc- 
tor of  Civil  Law,  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  a  man  whom  I  judge  to  be  well  qualified  for  that  great 
work  :  and  I  do  hereby  recommend  him,  to  all  whom  it 
may  concern,  as  a  fit  person  to  preside  over  the  flock  of 
Christ.  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  seal,  this  second  day  of  September,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four. 
John  Wesley." 

Wesley  had  long  deceived  himself  respecting  the  part 
which  he  was  acting  toward  the  Church  of  England.  At 
the  outset  of  his  career  he  had  no  intention  of  setting  him- 
self up  in  opposition  to  it ;  and  when,  in  his  progress 
toward  schism,  he  disregarded  its  forms,  and  set  its  disci- 
pline at  naught,  he  still  repeatedly  disclaimed  all  views  of 
separation.  Nor  did  he  ever  avow  the  wish,  or  refer  to  it 
as  a  likely  event,  with  complacency,  even  when  he  must 
have  perceived  that  the  course  of  his  conduct,  and  the 
temper  of  his  followers,  rendered  it  inevitable.  On  this 
occasion  his  actions  spoke  for  him  :  by  arrogating  the  epis- 
copal authority,  he  took  the  only  step  which  was  wanting 
to  form  the  Methodists  into  a  distinct  body  of  separatists 
from  the  Church.  Nevertheless,  this  was  not  done  without 
reluctance,  arising  from  old  and  rooted  feelings ;  nor  with- 
out some  degi-ee  of  shame,  perhaps,  for  the  inconsistencies 
in  which  he  had  involved  himself  From  the  part  which 
he  now  took,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  attempted  to 
justify  it,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  story  of  his  applying 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


251 


CO  the  Greek  bishop  for  consecration  is  well  founded,  not- 
withstanding the  falsehoods  which  his  enemies  had  added 
to  the  simple  fact.  Mr.  Wesley's  declared  opinion  respect- 
ing the  identity  of  the  episcopal  and  priestly  orders  was 
contradicted  by  his  own  conduct ;  and  it  may  be  suspected 
that  his  opinion  upon  the  apostolical  succession  rested  on 
no  better  ground  than  its  convenience  to  his  immediate 
purpose.  Undoubtedly,  as  he  says,  it  is  not  possible  to 
prove  the  apostolical  succession  ;  but,  short  of  that  abso- 
lute proof,  which,  in  this  case,  can  not  be  obtained,  and 
therefore  ought  not  to  be  demanded,  there  is  every  reason 
for  believing  it.  No  person  who  fairly  considers  the  ques- 
tion can  doubt  this,  whatever  value  he  may  attach  to  it. 
But  Wesley  knew  its  value.  He  was  neither  so  deficient 
in  feeling,  or  in  sagacity,  as  not  to  know  that  the  sentiment 
which  connects  us  with  other  ages,  and  by  which  we  are 
carried  back,  is  scarcely  less  useful  in  its  influences  than 
the  hopes  by  which  we  are  carried  forward.  He  would 
rather  have  been  a  link  of  the  golden  chain  than  the  ring 
from  whence  a  new  one  of  infeiior  metal  was  to  proceed. 

Charles  Wesley  disapproved  his  brother's  conduct  on 
this  occasion  as  an  unwarrantable  assumption  of  authority, 
and  as  inconsistent  with  his  professed  adherence  to  the 
Church  of  England.  His  approbation  could  never  be  in- 
different to  John,  whose  fortunes  he  had  during  so  many 
years  faithfully  shared,  for  honor  and  for  dishonor,  for  bet- 
ter, for  worse.  But  Dr.  Coke  had  now  succeeded  to  the 
place  in  Methodism  from  which  Charles  had  retired ;  and 
in  him  Mr.  Wesley  found  that  willing  and  implicit  obedi- 
ence which  is  the  first  qualification  that  the  founders  of  a 
sect,  an  order,  or  a  religion,  require  from  their  immediate 
disciples.  The  new  superintendent,  with  his  companions, 
sailed  from  Bristol  for  New  York.  Among  the  books 
which  he  read  on  the  voyage  was  the  Life  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier.  Through  all  the  exaggerations  and  fables  with 
which  that  life  is  larded,  Coke  perceived  the  spirit  of  the 
man,  and  exclaimed  with  kindred  feeling,  "  Oh  for  a  soul 
like  his  !  But,  glory  be  to  God,  there  is  nothing  impossible 
with  Him.  I  seem  to  want  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  and  the 
voice  of  a  trumpet,  that  I  may  proclaim  the  Gospel  through 
the  east  and  the  west,  and  the  north  and  the  south." 

Asbury  was  not  at  New  York  when  they  arrived.  Dr. 
Coke  explained  the  plan  which  had  been  arranged  in  Eng- 
land, to  the  traveling  preachers  who  were  stationed  in 


252 


METHODISM  IN  A3IERICA. 


that  city,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing,  not  only  that 
such  a  plan  would  be  highly  approved  by  all  the  preach- 
ers, but  of  being  desired  to  make  it  public  at  once ;  be- 
cause Mr.  Wesley  had  determined  the  point ;  and  therefore 
it  was  not  to  be  investigated,  but  complied  with."  This, 
however,  was  not  done,  because  it  would  have  been  dis- 
respectful to  Mr.  Asbury,  with  whom  he  was  instructed  to 
consult,  and  act  in  concert.  On  his  way  southward,  to 
meet  him,  Dr.  Coke  found  that  Methodism  was  in  good 
odor  in  America.  He  was  introduced  to  the  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania;  and,  at  an  inn,  in  the  state  of  Delaware,  the 
landlady,  though  not  a  Methodist  herself,  entertained  him 
and  his  companion  sumptuously,  and  would  not  receive 
their  money ;  esteeming  it  an  honor  to  have  harbored  such 
guests.  When  he  had  finished  preaching  one  day,  at  a 
chapel  in  the  state,  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  to  a  large 
congregation,  a  plain,  robust  man  came  up  to  him  in  the 
pulpit,  and  kissed  him,  pronouncing,  at  the  same  time,  a 
primitive  salutation.  This  person,  as  he  readily  supposed, 
proved  to  be  his  colleague.  Dr.  Coke  was  prepared  to 
esteem  him,  and  a  personal  acquaintance  confirmed  this 
opinion.  I  exceedingly  reverence  Mr.  Asbury,"  he  says, 
"  he  has  so  much  wisdom  and  consideration,  so  much  meek- 
ness and  love,  and,  under  all  this,  though  hardly  to  be  per- 
ceived, so  much  command  and  authority." 

Asbury,  expecting  to  meet  Dr.  Coke  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  had  collected  as  many  preachers  as  he  could,  to 
hold  a  council.  They  agreed  to  convoke  a  Conference  of 
all  the  preachers,  at  Baltimore,  on  Christmas  eve,  and 
Freeborn  Garretson  was  sent  off"  on  this  errand,  "like  an 
arrow,  from  north  to  south,"  with  directions  to  send  mes- 
sengers to  the  right  and  left.  This  was  in  the  middle  of 
November ;  and,  that  Coke  might  not  be  idle  in  the  mean 
time,  Asbury  drew  up  for  him  a  route  of  about  a  thousand 
miles,  borrowed  a  good  horse,  and  gave  him,  for  a  guide 
and  assistant,  his  black,  Harry,  of  whom  the  doctor  says, 
*'  I  really  believe  he  is  one  of  the  best  preachers  in  the 
world,  there  is  such  an  amazing  power  attends  his  preach- 
ing, though  he  can  not  read  ;  and  he  is  one  of  the  humblest 
creatures  I  ever  saw."  Of  eighty-one  American  preach- 
ers, sixty  assembled  at  the  Conference  ;  and,  at  their  meet- 
ing, the  form  of  church  government,  and  the  manner  of 
worship  for  the  Methodists  in  America,  which  Mr.  Wesley 
had  arranged,  was  accepted  and  established.    The  name 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


253 


of  superintendent,  and  the  notion  that  bishops  and  presby- 
ters were  the  same  order,  were  now  laid  aside  ;*  they  were 
mere  pretexts,  and  had  served  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  intended.  Methodism  was  constituted  in  America  as 
an  Episcopal  Church.  The  clergy  were  to  consist  of  three 
orders :  bishops,  elders,  and  deacons.  The  deacons  were 
to  be  ordained  by  a  bishop,  after  a  probation  similar  to  that 
of  the  traveling  preachers  in  England.  The  elders  were 
of  two  orders  :  the  presiding  elders  were  to  be  unanimous- 
ly elected  by  the  General  Conference ;  they  were  to  be  as- 
sistants to  the  bishops,  to  represent  them  in  their  absence, 
and  to  act  under  their  direction.  The  traveling  elders 
were  to  administer  the  ordinances,  and  to  perform  the  office 
of  marrying  :  they  were  to  be  elected  by  a  majority  of  the 
Annual  Conference,  and  ordained  by  a  bishop  and  the 
elders  present,  by  imposition  of  hands.  A  deacon  might 
not  be  chosen  elder,  till  he  had  officiated  two  years  in  his 
inferior  degree.  A  bishop  was  to  be  elected  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  consecrated  by  two  or  three  bishops  ; 
but  in  case  the  whole  order  should  be  extinct,  the  ceremo- 
ny might  then  be  performed  by  three  elders.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  bishop  was,  to  preside  in  the  Conferences,  sta- 
tion the  preachers,  admit  or  suspend  them  during  the  in- 
terval of  the  Conferences,  travel  through  the  connection 
at  large,  and  inspect  the  concerns,  temporal  and  spiritual, 
of  the  societies.  Besides  the  General  Conference,  in  which 
the  supreme  authority  was  lodged,  and  which  had  power 
of  suspending,  judging,  and  expelling  the  bishops,  as  well 
as  electing  them,  there  were  to  be  six  yearly  Conferences ; 
the  extent  of  the  country  rendered  this  necessary.  The 
circuits,  during  the  time  of  the  Conference,  were  to  be 
supplied  by  local  preachers,  engaged  for  the  purpose,  and 
paid  in  the  same  proportion  and  manner  as  the  traveling 
preachers  for  whom  they  acted.  A  local  preacher  was  not 
eligible  to  the  office  of  deacon  till  after  four  years'  proba- 
tion ;  nor  might  he  preach  till  he  had  obained  a  certificate 
of  approbation  from  his  quarterly  meeting.  The  discipline 
differed  little  from  that  of  the  English  Methodists  ;  the 
ritual  more.  In  condescension  to  the  puritanic  notions 
which  might  be  expected  among  the  old  Americans,  the 

*  [Never!  never!  Methodists,  to  this  day,  claim  to  have  no  order 
of  ministers  above  presbyters,  and,  though  their  government  is  episco- 
pal in  its  form,  their  episcopacy  is  the  creature  and  subject  of  the  elder- 
ship.— Am.  Ed.^ 


234 


METHODISM  IN  AMEHICA. 


sacrament  might  be  administered  to  communicants,  sitting 
or  standing,  if  they  objected  to  kneel ;  and  baptism  might 
be  performed  either  by  sprinkling,  affusion,  or  immersion, 
at  the  option  of  the  parents,  or,  in  adult  cases,  of  the  per- 
son. 

At  this  Conference,  in  pursuance  of  Mr.  Wesley's  in- 
structions, and  by  virtue  of  the  authority  derived  from  him,* 
Dr.  Coke  consecrated  Mr.  Asbury  bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  America.  In  the  name  of  that  Church, 
an  address  to  General  Washington  was  drawn  up,  con- 
gratulating him  on  his  appointment  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent,! and  professing  the  loyalty  of  the  members,  and  their 
readiness,  on  all  lawful  occasions,  to  support  the  govern- 
ment then  established.  This  was  signed  by  Coke  and 
Asbury,  as  heads  of  the  Connection  :  the  former,  upon  this 
occasion,  in  his  capacity  of  American  bishop,  performing 
an  act  inconsistent  with  his  allegiance  as  a  British  subject. 
He,  who  was  always  more  ready  to  act  than  to  think,  did 
not,  perhaps,  at  the  time,  perceive  the  dilemma  in  which 
he  was  placed  ;  nor,  if  he  had,  would  he  have  acted  other- 
wise ;  for,  whenever  a  national  and  a  sectarian  duty  come 
in  competition  with  each  other,  the  national  one  is  that 
which  goes  to  the  wall.  It  exposed  him  to  some  severe 
animadversion  in  England,  and  to  a  semblance  of  dis- 
pleasure from  Mr.  Wesley,  which  was  merely  intended  to 
save  appearances.^  General  Washington  returned  a  writ- 
ten reply,  addressed  to  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States : — "  It  should  be  his  en- 
deavor," he  said,  "  to  manifest  the  purity  of  his  inclinations 
for  promoting  the  happiness  of  mankind,  as  well  as  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  desires  to  contribute  whatever  might  be  in  his 
power  toward  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  the  Amer- 
ican people.  It  always  afforded  him  satisfaction,  when  he 
found  a  concurrence  and  practice  between  all  conscientious 

*  [Not  so,  but  by  virtue  of  the  choice  of  the  Conference.  Mr.  Asbury 
decidedly  refused  to  accept  the  office  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Wesley ; 
but,  when  chosen  by  the  Conference,  he  consented  to  serve.  Neither 
he  nor  Dr.  Coke,  nor  any  of  their  successors  in  office,  were,  or  are,  any- 
other  than  presbyter-bishops,  deriving  all  their  authority  from  their 
peers  of  the  eldership,  to  whom  they  are  -".ccountable. — Am.  Ed.'] 

t  [Quite  an  anachronism.  This  address  was  dated  in  January,  1785, 
and  General  Washington  was  not  elected  President  till  1789. — Am. 
Ed.-\ 

t  [The  reader  will  obsen'e  that  this  inuendo  is  only  a  Southeyism. — ■ 
Am.  Ed.'\ 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


255 


men,  in  acknowledgments  of  homage  to  the  Great  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Universe,  and  in  professions  of  support  to  a 
just  civil  government.  He  would  always  strive  to  prove  a 
faithful  and  impartial  patron  of  genuine  vital  religion  ;  and 
he  assured  them,  in  particular,  that  he  took  in  the  kindest 
part  their  promise  of  presenting  their  prayers  for  him  at 
the  throne  of  Heaven ;  and  that  he  likewise  implored  the 
Divine  benediction  on  them,  and  their  religious  commu- 
nity." 

At  their  first  interview,  the  two  bishops  agreed  to  use 
their  joint  endeavors  for  establishing  a  school,  or  college, 
on  the  plan  of  Kingswood  ;  and,  before  they  met  at  the 
Conference,  they  had  got  above  a  thousand  pounds  sub- 
scribed for  it.  Relying,  therefore,  up.on  that  bank  of  faith, 
which,  when  religious  interests,  real  or  imaginary,  are  con- 
cerned, may  safely  be  drawn  upon  to  a  surprising  amount, 
Dr.  Coke  gave  orders  to  begin  the  work.  Four  acres  of 
ground  were  purchased,  at  the  price  of  sixty  pounds  ster- 
ling, eight-and-twenty  miles  from  Baltimore  :  the  spot  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  Chesapeake  and  of  the  Susquehanna 
flowing  toward  it,  through  a  great  extent  of  country,  the 
sight  extending  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  in  different  parts 
of  the  splendid  panorama.  The  students  were  to  rise  at 
five,  summer  and  winter :  upon  this  rule  the  masters  were 
to  insist  inflexibly,  the  founders  being  convinced,  they  said, 
by  constant  observation  and  experience,  that  it  was  of  vast 
importance,  both  to  body  and  mind  ;  for  it  was  of  admira- 
ble use  in  preserving  a  good,  or  improving  a  bad  constitu- 
tion ;  and  by  thus  strengthening  the  various  organs  of  the 
body,  it  enabled  the  mind  to  put  forth  its  utmost  energies. 
At  six  they  were  to  assemble  to  prayer,  and  the  interval, 
till  seven,  was  allowed  for  recreation  ;  the  recreations  being 
gardening,  walking,  riding,  and  bathing ;  and,  within  doors, 
the  carpenter's,  joiner's,  cabinet-maker's,  and  turner's  busi- 
ness. Nothing  which  the  world  calls  play  was  to  be  per- 
mitted. Dr.  Coke  had  brought  with  him  Wesley's  sour 
precept,  that  those  who  play  when  they  are  young,  will 
play  when  they  are  old  ;  and  he  supported  it  by  the  author- 
ity of  Locke  and  Rousseau,  saying,  "  that  though  the  latter 
was  essentially  mistaken  in  his  religious  system,  yet  his 
wisdom  in  other  respects  was  indisputably  acknowledged  !" 
He  judged  well,  however,  in  recommending  agriculture 
and  architecture  as  studies  especially  useful  in  a  new  coun- 
try, and  therefore  to  be  preferred  for  the  recreation  of  the 


256 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


Students.  The  permission  of  bathing  was  restricted  to  a 
plunge  into  a  cold  bath  ;  bathing  in  the  river  was  forbid- 
den ;  a  prohibition  apparently  so  absurd,  that  some  valid 
local  reason  for  it  must  be  presumed.  The  hours  of  study 
were  from  eight  to  twelve,  and  from  three  till  six  ;  break- 
fast at  eight,  dinner  at  one,  supper  at  six,  prayers  at  seven, 
and  bed  at  nine.  The  punishments  were,  private  reproof 
for  the  first  offense,  public  reproof  for  a  second,  and,  for 
the  third,  confinement  in  a  room  set  apart  for  the  purpose. 

The  establishment  was  named  Cokesbury  College,*  after 
its  two  founders.  An  able  piesident  was  found,  a  good 
master,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  institution 
acquired  so  much  repute,  that  young  men  from  the  South- 
ern states  came  there  to  finish  their  education ;  and  the 
founders  were  apprised  that  the  legislature  was  willing  to 
grant  them  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  enable  them  to  con- 
fer degrees.  The  reputation  of  this  college  gratified  the 
American  Methodists,  and  disposed  them  to  found  others. 
The  people  in  Kentucky  requested  to  have  one  in  their 
country,  and  offered  to  give  three  or  four  thousand  acres 
of  good  land  for  its  support.  The  reply  to  this  application 
was,  that  Conference  would  undertake  to  complete  one 
within  ten  years,  if  the  people  would  provide  five  thousand 
acres  of  fertile  ground,  and  settle  it  on  trustees  under  its 
direction.    In  Georgia,  a  few  leading  persons  engaged  to 

*  In  the  year  1792  the  college  was  set  on  fire,  and  burned  to  the 
ground,  the  whole  of  its  apparatus  and  library  being  destroyed.  The 
State  offered  a  reward  of  $1000  for  the  discovery  of  the  incendiary,  but 
without  effect.  Dr.  Coke  was  not  deterred  from  a  second  attempt; 
and  seventeen  of  his  friends,  in  the  Baltimore  Society,  immediately 
subscribed  among  themselves  more  than  £1000  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  another  college.  A  large  IJiiilding,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
which  had  been  intended  for  balls  and  assemblies,  was  purchased,  with 
all  the  premises  belonging  to  it,  for  £.5,300.  The  Society  subscribed 
seven  hundred  of  this,  and  collected  six  hundred  more  from  house  to 
house:  the  seventeen  original  subscribers  made  themselves  responsible 
for  the  rest.  There  was  room  for  a  church  upon  the  ground,  and  a 
church  accordingly  was  built.  This  college  was  even  more  successfiil 
than  Cokesbury,  while  it  lasted ;  but  it  came  to  the  same  fate,  in  1797. 
Some  boys  made  a  bonfire  in  an  adjoining  house  ;  and  college,  church, 
and  several  dwellings  and  warehouses  were  consumed.  By  the  two 
fires  the  Methodists  sustained  a  loss  of  £  10,000.  Dr.  Coke  then  agreed 
with  Asbury,  who,  after  the  first  catastrophe,  was  convinced  "  that  it 
was  not  the  will  of  God  for  them  to  undertake  such  expensive  build- 
ings, nor  to  attempt  such  popular  establishments."  As  these  events 
did  not  occur  till  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  they  aro  noticed  here, 
rather  than  in  the  text. 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


257 


give  two  thousand  acres  ;  and  one  congregation  subscribed 
twelve  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  weight  of  tobacco 
toward  the  building.  Institutions  of  this  kind  are  endowed 
at  so  small  a  cost  in  now  countries,  that,  with  a  little  fore- 
sight on  the  part  of  government,  provision  might  easily  be 
made  for  the  wants,  and  palliatives  prepared  for  the  evils, 
of  advanced  society. 

Had  the  institution  in  Georgia  been  effected,  it  was  to 
have  been  called  Wesley  College,  in  reference  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's early  labors  in  that  country.  At  this  time  he  was  so 
popular  in  America,  that  some  hundreds  of  children  were 
baptized  by  his  name.  This  was  in  great  measure  owing 
to  the  choice  which  he  had  made  of  Dr.  Coke,  whose  lib- 
eral manners,  and  rank  of  life,  obtained  him  access  among 
the  higher  classes  upon  equal  terms,  and  flattered  those  in 
a  lower  station  with  whom  he  made  himself  familiar.  The 
good  opinion,  however,  which  his  representative  had  ob- 
tained among  all  ranks  was  lessened,  and  for  a  time  well- 
nigh  destroyed,  by  the  indiscretion  with  which  he  exerted 
himself  in  behalf  of  a  good  cause. 

Wesley  had  borne  an  early  testimony  against  the  system 
of  negro  slavery  :  on  this  point  his  conduct  is  curiously 
contrasted  with  Whitefield's,  who  exerted  himself  in  ob- 
taining a  repeal  of  that  part  of  the  charter  granted  to  the 
colony  in  Georgia  whereby  slavery  was  prohibited.*  Dr. 
Coke,  feeling  like  Mr.  Wesley,  took  up  the  subject  with 
his  usual  ardor,  preached  upon  it  with  great  vehemence, 
and  prepared  a  petition  to  Congress  for  the  emancipation 
of  the  negroes.  With  this  petition  he  and  Asbury  went  to 
General  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  solicited  him 
to  sign  it.  Washington  received  them  courteously  and 
hospitably  :  he  declined  signing  the  petition,  that  being  in- 
consistent with  the  rank  which  he  held  ;  but  he  assured 
them  that  he  agreed  with  them,  and  that,  if  the  Assembly 

*  "  As  for  the  lawfulness  of  keeping  slaves,"  he  says,  "  I  have  no 
doubt,  since  I  hear  of  some  that  were  bought  with  Abraham's  money, 
and  some  that  were  bom  in  his  house.  And  I  can  not  help  thinking 
that  some  of  those  servants  mentioned  by  the  Apostles,  in  their  epis- 
tles, were  or  had  been  slaves.  It  is  plain  that  the  Gibeonites  were 
doomed  to  perpetual  slavery ;  and,  though  liberty  is  a  sweet  thing  to 
such  as  are  born  free,  yet,  to  those  who  never  knew  the  sweets  of  it, 
slavery  perhaps  may  not  be  so  irksome.  However  this  be,  it  is  plain 
to  a  demonstration,  that  hot  countries  can  not  be  cultivated  without 
negroes."  So  miserably  could  Whitefield  reason !  He  flattered,  how- 
ever, his  better  feelings,  by  supposing  that  the  slaves  who  should  be 
brought  into  Georgia  would  be  placed  in  the  way  of  conversion. 


258 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


should  take  their  petition  into  consideration,  he  would  sig- 
nify his  sentiments  by  a  letter.  They  proceeded  so  far 
themselves,  that  they  required  the  members  of  the  Society 
to  set  their  slaves  free ;  and  several  persons  were  found 
who  made  this  sacrifice,  from  a  sense  of  duty.  One  plant- 
er in  Virginia  emancipated  twenty-two,  who  were  at  that 
time  worth  from  thirty  to  forty  pounds  each.  His  name 
was  Kennon,  and  it  deserves  to  be  honorably  recorded. 
But  Buch  instances  were  rare  ;  and  Dr.  Coke,  who  had 
much  of  the  national  ardor  in  his  character,  proceeded  in 
such  an  intolerant  spirit  of  philanthropy,*  that  he  soon  pro- 
voked a  violent  opposition,  and  incurred  no  small  degree  of 
personal  danger.  One  of  his  sermons  upon  this  topic  in- 
censed some  of  his  hearers  so  much,  that  they  withdrew 
for  the  purpose  of  waylaying  him  ;  and  a  lady  negro-owner 
promised  them  fifty  pounds,  if  they  would  give  "  that  little 
doctor"  a  hundred  lashes.  But  the  better  part  of  his  con- 
gregation protected  him,  and  that  same  sermon  produced 
the  emancipation  of  twenty-four  slaves.  In  one  county  the 
slave-owners  presented  a  bill  against  him,  which  was  found 
by  the  grand  jury,  and  no  less  than  ninety  persons  set  out 
in  pursuit  of  him  ;  but  he  was  got  beyond  their  reach.  A 
more  ferocious  enemy  followed  him,  with  an  intention  of 
shooting  him  :  this  the  man  himself  confessed,  when,  some 
time  afterward,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  So- 
ciety. On  his  second  visit  to  America,  Coke  was  convinced 
that  he  had  acted  indiscreetly,  and  he  consented  to  let  the 
question  of  emancipation  rest,  rather  than  stir  up  an  op- 
position which  so  greatly  impeded  the  progress  of  Meth- 
odism. 

If  a  course  of  itinerancy  in  England  led  the  errant 
preacher  into  picturesque  scenes  and  wild  situations,  much 
more  might  this  be  expected  in  America.  Coke  was  de- 
lighted with  the  romantic  way  of  life  in  which  he  found 

*  These  extracts  from  his  journal  will  exemplify  that  spirit:  "At 
night  I  lodged  at  the  house  of  Captain  Dillard,  a  most  hospitable  man, 
and  as  kind  to  his  negroes  as  if  they  were  white  servants.  It  was  quite 
pleasing  to  see  them  so  decently  and  comfortably  clothed.  And  yet  I 
could  not  beat  into  the  head  of  that  poor  man  the  evil  of  keeping  them 
in  slavery,  although  he  had  read  Mr.  Wesley's  Thoughts  on  Slavery  (I 
think  he  said)  three  times  over.  But  his  good  wife  is  strongly  on  our 
side." — I  preached  the  late  Colonel  Bedford's  funeral  sermon.  But  I 
said  nothing  good  of  him,  for  he  was  a  violent  friend  of  slavery ;  and  his 
interests  being  great  among  the  Methodists  in  these  parts,  he  would 
have  been  a  dreadful  thorn  in  our  sides,  */  thi  Lord  had  not  in  mercy 
taken  him  away ! 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


259 


himself  engaged  ;  preaching  in  the  midst  of  ancient  forests, 
"  with  scores,  and  sometimes  hundreds,  of  horses  tied  to 
the  trees."  "  Sometimes,"  he  says,  '*  a  most  noble  vista, 
of  half  a  mile  or  a  mile  in  length,  would  open  between  the 
lofty  pines;  sometimes  the  tender  fawns  and  hinds  would 
suddenly  appear,  and,  on  seeing  or  hearing  us,  would 
glance  through  the  woods,  or  vanish  away."  The  spring 
scenery  of  these  woods  filled  him  with  delight.  "  The 
oaks,"  says  he,  "  have  spread  out  their  leaves,  and  the 
dogwood,  whose  bark  is  medicinal,  and  whose  innumera- 
ble white  flowers  form  one  of  the  finest  ornaments  of  the 
forest,  is  in  full  blossom.  The  dec/p  green  of  the  pines,  the 
bright  transparent  green  of  the  oaks,  and  the  fine  white  of 
the  dogwood  flowers,  with  other  trees  and  shrubs,  form 
such  a  complication  of  beauties  as  is  indescribable  to  those 
who  have  only  lived  in  countries  that  are  almost  entirely 
cultivated."  "  It  is  one  of  my  most  delicate  entertainments 
to  embrace  every  opportunity  of  engulfing  myself  (if  I  may 
so  express  it)  in  the  woods  :  I  seem  then  to  be  detached 
from  every  thing  but  the  quiet  vegetable  creation  and  my 
God."  A  person  always  went  before  him  to  make  his 
publications  ;  by  which  strange  phrase  is  implied  a  notice 
to  all  the  country  round,  in  what  place,  and  at  what  times, 
the  itinerant  was  to  be  expected.  Their  mark  for  finding 
the  way  in  these  wide  wildernesses  was  the  split  hush. 
When  a  new  circuit  in  the  woods  was  formed,  at  every 
turning  of  the  road  or  path,  the  preacher  split  two  or  three 
bushes  beside  the  right  way,  as  a  direction  for  those  who 
came  after  him.*  They  had  no  cause  to  repent  of  their 
labor  in  traveling;  for  numerous  hearers  were  collected, 
insomuch  that  Dr.  Coke  was  astonished  at  the  pains  which 
the  people  took  to  hear  the  Gospel.  Idleness  and  curiosity 
brought  many,  and  many  came  for  the  pleasure  of  being  in 
a  crowd ;  but  numbers  were  undoubtedly  drawn  together 
by  that  desire  of  religious  instruction  which  is  the  noblest 
characteristic  of  man,  and  for  which,  by  the  greatest  of  all 
political  errors,  the  American  government  has  neglected 
to  provide.!    **  I  am  daily  filled  with  surprise,"  lie  says, 

♦  "  In  one  of  the  circuits  the  wicked  discovered  the  secret,  and  split 
bushes  in  wrong  places,  on  purpose  to  deceive  the  preachers." 

t  [And  yet  probably  no  country  in  the  world  is  better  supplied  with 
the  means  of  religious  instruction,  wherever  circumstances  will  admit 
of  it;  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  superior  efficiency  of  the  "vol- 
untary system"  over  any  legal  establishment. — Am.  EdJ\ 


260 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


*'  in  meeting  with  such  large  congregations  as  I  am  favored 
with,  in  the  midst  of  vast  wildernesses,  and  wonder  from 
whence  they  come  !"  It  appears  that  the  spirit  of  riotous 
devotion,  which  afterwaid  produced  the  fanatical  extrava- 
gances of  the  camp-meetings,  began  to  manifest  itself  in 
the  early  days  of  American  Methodism,  and  that  it  was 
encouraged  by  the  superiors,  when  it  might  have  been 
repressed.  "  At  Annapolis,"  says  Dr.  Coke,  "  after  my 
last  prayer,  the  congregation  began  to  pray  and  praise 
aloud  in  a  most  astonishing  manner.  At  first  I  found  some 
reluctance  to  enter  into  the  business ;  but  soon  the  tears 
began  to  flow,  and  I  think  I  have  seldom  found  a  more  com- 
forting or  strengthening  time.  This  praying  and  praising 
aloud  is  a  common  thing  throughout  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land. What  shall  we  say  '?  Souls  are  awakened  and  con- 
verted by  multitudes ;  and  the  work  is  surely  a  genuine 
work,  if  there  be  a  genuine  work  of  God  upon  earth. 
"Whether  there  be  wildfire  in  it,  or  not,  I  do  most  ardently 
wish  that  there  was  such  a  work  at  this  present  time  in 
England."  At  Baltimore,  after  the  evening  service  was 
concluded,  "  the  congregation  began  to  pray  and  praise 
aloud,  and  continued  so  to  do,  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Out  of  a  congi'egation  of  two  thousand  people,  two 
or  three  hundred  were  engaged  at  the  same  time  in  praising 
God,  praying  for  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners, 
or  exhorting  those  around  them  with  the  utmost  vehe- 
mence ;  and  hundreds  more  were  engaged  in  wrestling 
prayer,  either  for  their  own  conversion,  or  sanctification. 
The  first  noise  of  the  people  soon  brought  a  multitude  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  One  of  our  elders  was  the  means 
that  night  of  the  conversion  of  seven  poor  penitents  within 
his  little  circle  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes.  Such  was  the 
zeal  of  many,  that  a  tolerable  company  attended  the  preach- 
ing at  five  the  next  morning,  notwithstanding  the  late  hour 
at  which  they  parted."  The  next  evening  the  same  uproar 
was  renewed,  and  the  maddened  congregation  continued 
in  their  excesses  as  long  and  as  loud  as  before.  The  prac- 
tice became  common  in  Baltimore,  though  that  city  had 
been  one  of  the  "  calmest  and  most  critical"  upon  the  con- 
tinent. "  Many  of  our  elders,"  says  Coke,  "  who  were  the 
softest,  most  connected,  and  most  sedate  of  our  preachers, 
have  entered  with  all  their  hearts  into  this  work.  And 
gracious  and  wonderful  has  been  the  change,  our  greatest 
enemies  themselves  being  the  judges,  that  has  been  wrought 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


261 


on  multitudes,  on  whom  the  work  began  at  those  wonder- 
ful seasons." 

Plainly  as  it  had  been  shown  among  the  Methodists 
themselves,  that  emotions  of  this  kind  were  like  a  fire  of 
straw,  soon  kindled  and  soon  spent,  the  disposition,  when- 
ever it  manifested  itself,  was  encouraged  rather  than 
checked  ;  so  strong  is  the  tendency  toward  enthusiasm. 
But  if  Dr.  Coke,  with  the  advantages  of  education,  rank 
in  life,  and  of  the  lessons  which  he  derived  from  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, when  age  and  long  experience  had  cooled  him,  could 
be  so  led  away  by  sympathy,  as  to  give  his  sanction  to 
these  proceedings,  it  might  be  expected  that  preachers 
who  had  grown  up  in  a  state  of  semi-civilization,  and  were 
in  the  first  effervescence  of  their  devotional  feelings,  would 
go  beyond  all  bounds  in  their  zeal.  They  used  their  ut- 
most endeavors  (as  had  been  advised  in  the  third  Confer- 
ence) *'  to  throw  men  into  convictions,  into  strong  sorrow, 
and  fear, — to  make  them  inconsolable,  refusing  to  be  com- 
forted believing  that  the  stronger  was  the  conviction,  the 
speedier  was  the  deliverance.  *'  The  darkest  time  in  the 
night,"  said  one,  "is  just  before  the  dawning  of  the  day: 
so  it  is  with  a  soul  groaning  for  redemption."  They  used, 
therefore,  to  address  the  unawakened  in  the  most  alarming 
strain,  teaching  them  that  "  God  out  of  Christ  is  a  con- 
suming fire  !"*  and  to  address  the  most  enthusiastic  lan- 
guage to  those  who  were  in  what  they  called  a  seeking 
state,  in  order  to  keep  them  **  on  the  full  stretch  for  sanc- 
tification."  Benjamin  Abbott  not  only  threw  his  hearers 
into  fits,  but  often  fainted  himself  through  the  vehemence 
of  his  own  prayers  and  preachments.  He  relates  such 
exploits  with  great  satisfaction, — how  one  person  could 
neither  eat  nor  drink  for  three  days  after  one  of  his  dras- 
tic sermons  ;  and  how  another  was,  for  the  same  length 
of  time,  totally  deprived  of  the  use  of  her  limbs.  A  youth 
who  was  standing  on  the  hearth,  beside  a  blazing  fire,  in 
the  room  where  Abbott  was  holding  forth,  overcome  by 
the  contagious  emotion  which  was  excited,  tottered  and 
fell  into  the  flames.    He  was  instantly  rescued,  **  provi- 

♦  In  what  sense  the  Methodist  divines  employed  or  applied  these 
words  I  know  not:  but  that  the  words  express  a  most  awful  truth, 
and  are  capable  of  a  most  teirific  application,  I  am  deeply  assured. — 
S.  T.C. 

What  mean  the  royal  Psalmist's  words,  "  If  I  descend  into  hell, 
thou  art  there  also  ?"— S.  T.  C. 


262 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


dentially,"  says  the  preacher,  "  or  he  would  have  been 
beyond  the  reach  of  mercy :  his  body  would  have  been 
burned  to  death,  and  what  would  have  become  of  his  soul  ! 
When  they  preached  within  the  house,  and  with  closed 
doors,  the  contaminated  air  may  have  contributed  to  these 
deleterious  effects ;  for  he  himself  notices  one  instance, 
where,  from  the  exceeding  closeness  of  the  room,  and  the 
number  of  persons  crowded  together  there,  the  candles 
gradually  went  out.  But  the  maddening  spirit  of  the  man 
excited  his  hearers  almost  to  frenzy. 

One  day  this  itinerant  went  to  a  funeral,  where  many 
hundreds  were  collected.  "  The  minister,"  he  says,  *'  being 
of  the  Church  form,  went  through  the  ceremonies,  and 
then  preached  a  short,  easy,  smooth,  soft  sermon,  which 
amounted  to  almost  nothing.  By  this  time  a  gust  was 
rising,  and  the  firmament  was  covered  with  blackness. 
Two  clouds  appeared  to  come  from  different  quarters,  and 
to  meet  over  the  house,  which  caused  the  people  to  crowd 
into  the  house,  up  stairs  and  down,  to  screen  themselves 
from  the  storm.  When  the  minister  had  done,  he  asked 
me  if  I  would  say  something  to  the  people.  I  arose,  and 
with  some  difficulty  got  on  one  of  the  benches,  the  house 
was  so  greatly  crowded ;  and  almost  as  soon  as  I  began, 
the  Lord  out  of  heaven  began  also.  The  tremendous  claps 
of  thunder  exceeded  any  thing  I  ever  had  heard,  and  the 
streams  of  lightning  flashed  through  the  house  in  a  most 
awful  manner.  It  shook  the  very  foundation  of  the  house  : 
the  windows  shook  with  the  violence  thereof.  I  lost  no 
time,  but  set  before  them  the  awful  coming  of  Christ  in  all 
his  splendor,  with  all  the  armies  of  heaven,  to  judge  the 
world,  and  to  take  vengeance  on  the  ungodly.  It  may  be, 
cried  I,  that  he  will  descend  in  the  next  clap  of  thunder ! 
The  people  screamed,  screeched,  and  fell,  all  through  the 
house.  The  lightning,  thunder,  and  rain,  continued  for 
about  the  space  of  one  hour,  in  the  most  awful  manner 
ever  known  in  that  country  ;  during  which  time  I  con- 
tinued to  set  before  them  the  coming  of  Christ  to  judge 
the  world,  warning  and  inviting  sinners  to  flee  to  Christ." 
He  declares  that,  fourteen  years  afterward,  when  he  rode 
that  circuit,  he  conversed  with  twelve  living  witnesses  who 
told  him  they  were  all  converted  at  that  sermon. 

One  day,  when  Abbott  was  exhorting  a  class  to  sanc- 
tification,  and  a  young  Quakeress  was  "  screaming  and 
screeching,  and  crying  for  purity  of  heart,"  her  father, 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


263 


healing  her  outcries,  came  into  the  room,  and  with  a  mild 
reproof  to  this  director  of  consciences,  reminded  him  that 
the  Lord  is  not  in  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  whirlwind, 
but  in  the  still,  small  voice.  The  passionate  enthusiast 
readily  replied,*  "  Do  you  know  what  the  earthquake 
means  ]  It  is  the  mighty  thunder  of  God's  voice  fi'om 
Mount  Sinai ;  it  is  the  Divine  law  to  drive  us  to  Christ. 
And  the  whirlwind  is  the  power  of  conviction,  like  the 
rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  teanng  away  every  false  hope, 
and  stripping  us  of  every  plea,  but — Give  me  Christ,  or 
else  I  die  !"  On  another  occasion,  when  a  young  Quaker 
ess  was  present  at  a  meeting,  and  retained  a  proper  com- 
mand of  herself  while  others  were  fainting  and  falling 
round  about  her,  Abbott,  regarding  this  as  a  proof  of  in- 
sensibility to  the  state  of  her  own  soul,  looked  her  full  in 
the  face,  and  began  to  pray  for  her  as  an  infidel,  and  called 
upon  all  his  hearers  to  do  the  same.  The  young  woman 
was  abashed,  and  retired  ;  but  as  she  made  her  way  slowly 
through  the  crowded  room,  "  1  cried  to  God,"  says  the 
fiery  fanatic,!  "  to  pursue  her  by  the  energy  of  his  Spirit 
through  the  streets ;  to  pursue  her  in  the  parlor,  in  the 
kitchen,  and  in  the  garden  ;  to  pursue  her  in  the  silent 
watches  of  the  night,  and  to  show  her  the  state  of  the 
damned  in  hell  ;  to  give  her  no  rest,  day  nor  night,  until 
she  found  rest  in  the  wounds  of  a  l)]essed  Redeemer." 
He  relates  this  himself,  and  adds,  that  in  consequence  of 
this  appeal,  she  soon  afterward  joined  the  Methodists,  in 
opposition  to  the  will  of  her  parents. 

"  Oh,"  said  Wesley,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  the  depth 
both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  causing  a  total 
disregard  of  all  religion,  to  pave  the  way  for  the  revival  of 
the  only  religion  which  was  worthy  of  God  !  The  total 
indifference  of  the  government  in  North  America,  whether 
there  be  any  religion  or  none,  leaves  room  for  the  propa- 
gation of  true  scriptural  religion,  without  the  least  let  or 
hindrance."  He  overlooked  another  consequence,  which 
the  extravagance  of  his  own  preachers  might  have  taught 

*  And  pertinently :  though  it  would  perhaps  have  been  a  reply  bet- 
ter suited  to  the  reprover,  had  Abbott  said,  "  True,  friend  !  but  yet  it 
was  by  God's  ordinance  that  the  earthquake  and  the  whixlwind  should 
go  before  the  still,  small  voice!" — S.  T.  C. 

t  His  journal  is  among  the  books  "  sold  at  the  Primitive  Methodist 
Book-room,  and  by  the  Preachers ;"  and  in  the  list  of  those  books  he  is 
designated  as  the  "  Great  American  Preacher  and  Revivalist." 


264 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


him.  Wherever  the  prime  duty  of  providing  religious  in- 
struction for  the  people  is  neglected,  the  greater  part  be- 
come altogether  careless  of  their  eternal  interests,  and  the 
rest  are  ready  to  imbibe  the  rankest  fanaticism,  or  embrace 
any  superstition  that  may  be  promulgated  among  them. 
A  field  is  open  for  impostors,  as  well  as  fanatics  ;  some 
are  duped  and  plundered,  and  others  are  driven  mad. 
Benjamin  Abbott  seems  to  have  been  a  sincere  and  well- 
meaning  enthusiast,  upon  the  very  verge  of  madness  him- 
self. From  the  preaching  of  such  men  an  increase  of 
insanity  might  well  be  expected ;  and  accordingly  it  is 
asserted,  that  a  fourth  part  of  the  cases  of  this  malady  in 
Philadelphia  arise  from  enthusiastic  devotion,  and  that  this 
and  the  abuse  of  ardent  spirits  are  principal  causes  of  the 
same  disease  in  Virginia.  But  the  fermentation  of  Meth- 
odism will  cease  in  America,  as  it  has  ceased  in  England; 
and  even  during  its  effervescence,  the  good  which  it  pro- 
duces is  greater  than  the  evil.  For  though  there  must  be 
many  such  fierce  fanatics  as  Abbott,  there  will  be  others 
of  a  gentler  nature  :  as  the  general  state  of  the  country 
may  improve,  the  preachers  will  partake  of  the  improve- 
ment ;  and,  meantime,  they  contribute  to  that  improvement 
in  no  slight  degree,  by  coiTecting  the  brutal  vices,  and 
keeping  up  a  sense  of  religion  in  regions  where  it  might 
otherwise  be  extinct.  At  their  first  General  Conference, 
the  American  preachers  made  a  rule  respecting  spiritu- 
ous liquors,  the  common  use  of  which  has  greatly  tended 
to  brutalize  the  people  in  that  country.  They  decreed, 
that  if  any  thing  disorderly  happened  under  the  roof  of  a 
member,  who  either  sold  ardent  spirits  or  gave  them  to  his 
guests,  "  the  preacher  who  had  the  oversight  of  the  circuit 
should  proceed  against  him,  as  in  the  case  of  other  im- 
moralities," and  he  should  be  censured,  suspended,  or  ex- 
cluded, according  to  the  circumstances.  The  zeal  with 
which  they  made  war  against  the  pomps  and  vanities  of 
society  was  less  usefully  directed.  *'  Such  days  and  nights 
as  those  were!"  says  one  of  the  early  preachers.  "  The 
fine,  the  gay,  threw  off  their  ruffles,  their  rings,  their  ear- 
rings, their  powder,  their  feathers.  Opposition,  indeed, 
there  was ;  for  the  devil  would  not  be  still.  My  life  was 
threatened ;  but  my  friends  were  abundantly  more  in 
number  than  ray  enemies."  In  attacking  these  things, 
the  preacher  acted  in  entire  conformity  with  the  spirit  of 
Wesley's  institutions  :  but  in  America,  Wesley  would  per- 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


265 


haps  have  modified  the  rigor  of  his  own  rules  ;  for  even 
Franklin,  who  long  maintained  opinions  as  rigorous  upon 
this  point  as  Wesley  himself,  at  length  discovered  that 
vanities  like  these  have  their  use,  in  giving  a  spur  to  in- 
dustry, and  accelerating  the  progress  of  civilization. 

There  were  parts  of  the  country  where  the  people  must 
have  remained  altogether  without  the  ordinances  of  reli- 
gion, had  it  not  been  for  the  Methodists.  Dr.  Coke  ob- 
serves that,  in  his  first  tour  in  America,  he  baptized  more 
children  and  adults  than  he  should  have  done  in  his  whole 
life,  if  stationed  in  an  English  parish.  The  people  of 
Delaware  had  scarcely  ever  heard  preaching  of  any  kind, 
when  Freeborn  Garretson  entered  that  country  in  one  of 
his  circuits.  Meeting  a  man  there  one  day,  he  asked  him, 
in  a  methodistical  manner,  if  he  knew  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
the  man  answered,  that  he  did  not  know  where  he  lived. 
Garretson  repeated  the  question,  supposing  that  it  had  not 
been  distinctly  heard ;  and  the  reply  then  was,  that  he 
Jinew  no  such  person.  Before  the  Methodists  had  built 
chapels  for  themselves,  they  officiated  sometimes  in  curi- 
ous situations,  either  because  there  was  no  place  of  wor- 
ship, or  none  to  which  they  had  access.  The  church-doors 
at  Cambridge,  in  Maryland,  were  locked  upon  Dr.  Coke, 
though  there  had  been  no  service  there  for  some  years, 
and  though  it  had  often  been  left  open  for  dogs,  and  pigs, 
and  cattle.  At  another  place,  the  church  was  in  so  filthy 
a  condition  that,  at  the  people's  desire,  he  held  forth  in  the 
court-house  instead.  At  Raleigh,  the  seat  of  government 
for  North  Carolina,  he  obtained  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Commons :  the  members  of  both  houses  attended,  and  the 
speaker's  seat  served  for  a  pulpit.  At  Annapolis,  they  lent 
him  the  theater.  *'  Pit,  boxes,  and  gallery,"  says  he,  "  were 
filled  with  people,  according  to  their  rank  in  life ;  and  I 
stood  upon  the  stage  and  preached  to  them,  though  at  first, 
I  confess,  I  felt  it  a  little  awkward." 

Itinerants  in  America  were  liable  to  discomforts  and 
dangers  which  are  unknown  in  England.  There  were 
perilous  swamps  to  cross ;  rivers  to  ford  ;  the  risk  of  going 
astray  in  the  wilderness;*  and  the  plague  of  ticks  in  the 

*  Brother  Ignatius  Pi gman  was  lost  for  sixteen  days  in  the  woods,  on 
the  way  to  Kentucky.  This  inhuman  name  reminds  me  of  a  controver- 
sialist who  advanced  the  notion  of  the  preexistence  of  the  human  soul 
of  Christ,  and  fiercely  supported  his  notion,  which  he  called  Preexist- 
arianism,  in  the  last  series  of  the  Gospel  Magazine.  His  name  being 
VOL.  II.  M 


266 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


forests,  which  are  so  gieat  a  torment  that  Dr.  Coke  was 
almost  laid  up  by  their  bites.  To  these  difficulties,  and  to 
the  inconveniences  of  sometimes  sleeping  on  the  floor, 
sometimes  three  in  a  bed,  and  sometimes  bivouacing  in 
the  woods,  the  native  preachers  were  less  sensible  than 
those  who  came  from  Europe ;  but  a  great  proportion  of 
the  itinerants  settled  when  they  became  fathers  of  families. 
"  It  is  most  lamentable,"  says  Coke,  "  to  see  so  many  of  our 
able  married  preachers  (or,  rather,  I  might  say,  almost  all 
of  them)  become  located  merely  for  want  of  support  for 
their  families.  I  am  conscious  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  peo- 
ple :  it  is  the  fault  of  the  preachers,  who,  through  a  false 
and  most  unfortunate  delicacy,  have  not  pressed  the  im- 
portant subject  as  they  ought  upon  the  consciences  of  the 
people.  I  am  truly  astonished  that  the  work  has  risen  to 
its  present  height  on  this  continent,  when  so  much  of  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  of  the  gifts  of  preaching,  yea,  of  the 
most  precious  gifts  which  God  bestows  on  mortals,  should 
thus  miserably  be  thrown  away.  I  could,  methinks,  enter 
into  my  closet,  and  weep  tears  of  blood  upon  the  occasion." 
At  another  time  he  says,  "  The  location  of  so  many  scores 
of  our  most  able  and  experienced  preachers  tears  my  very 
heart  in  pieces.  Methinks,  almost  the  whole  continent 
would  have  fallen  before  the  power  of  God,  had  it  not  been 
for  this  enormous  evil."  Dr.  Coke  himself  had  the  true 
spirit  of  an  errant  preacher,  and  therefore  did  not  consider 
how  natural  it  is  that  men  should  desire  to  settle  quietly  in 
domestic  life,  and  how  just  and  reasonable  it  is  that  they 
should  be  enabled  and  encouraged  to  do  so,  after  a  certain 
length  of  service.  Mr.  Wesley's  original  intention  was 
that  the  Methodist  preachers  sbould  be  auxiliaries  to  the 
Church  of  England,  as  the  friars  and  Jesuits  are  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  In  America,  where  there  is  no  Church, 
it  would  be  consistent  with  this  intention,  that  the  Method- 
ists should  have  an  order  of  settled  pastors  in  place  of  the 
clergy. 

But  though  the  American  itinerants  withdrew  from  their 
labors  earlier  than  their  brethren  in  the  mother  country, 
new  adventurers  were  continually  offering  themselves  to 
supply  their  place,  and  the  increase  of  Methodism  was  far 

Newcomb,  he  signed  himself  Peignenenve,  to  show  his  knowledge  of 
the  French  tongue;  and  one  of  his  adversaries,  who,  if  peradventure 
less  accomplished  in  languages,  was  not  less  witty  than  himself.  "  wick- 
edly distorted"  this  word,  and  called  laka  Mr.  Pig-enough. 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


267 


more  rapid  than  in  England.  In  the  year  1786,  two-and- 
twenty  chapels  were  built  in  a  single  circuit  within  the 
state  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  society  in  that  same  year 
had  added  to  its  numbers  in  the  United  States  more  than 
six  thousand  six  hundred  members.  In  1789,  when  the  cen- 
sus of  the  Methodists  in  Great  Britain  amounted  to  seventy 
thousand  three  hundred  and  five,  that  in  America  was  forty- 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-five.  In  less  than 
twenty  years  afterward  they  doubled  their  numbers  at 
home ;  but  the  Americans  had  then  become  the  more  nu- 
merous body,  and  their  comparative  increase  was  much 
greater  than  this  statement  would  imply,  because  it  was 
made  upon  a  much  smaller  population. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

In  the  year  1758,  "Wesley  baptized  some  negroes  at 
Wandsworth,  who  were  in  the  service  of  Nathaniel  Gil- 
bert, Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly  in  Antigua.  Mr. 
Gilbert  was  a  man  of  ardent  piety,  and  being  desirous  of 
promoting  religion  in  a  part  of  the  world  where  slavery 
had  produced  the  greatest  possible  degradation  of  the 
moral  feeling,  he  invited  Mr.  Fletcher  to  return  with  him. 
Mr.  Fletcher  hesitated,  and  consulted  Charles  Wesley :  "  I 
have  weighed  the  matter,"  said  he  ;  but,  on  one  hand,  I 
feel  that  I  have  neither  sufficient  zeal,  nor  grace,  nor 
talents,  to  expose  myself  to  the  temptations  and  labors  of  a 
mission  to  the  West  Indies ;  and,  on  the  other,  I  believe 
that  if  God  call  me  thither,  the  time  is  not  yet  come.  I 
wish  to  be  certain  that  I  am  converted  myself,  before  I 
leave  my  converted  brethren,  to  convert  heathens.  Pray 
let  me  know  what  you  think  of  this  business.  If  you  con- 
demn me  to  put  the  sea  between  us,  the  command  would 
be  a  hard  one ;  but  I  might  possibly  prevail  on  myself  to 
give  you  that  proof  of  the  deference  I  pay  to  your  judicious 
advice."  That  proof  was  not  exacted.  Fletcher  remained 
in  England,  where  he  rendered  more  essential  service  to 
Methodism,  by  his  writings,  than  he  could  have  done  as  a 
missionary  ;  and  Mr.  Gilbert  returned  to  Antigua  without 
any  minister  or  preacher  in  his  company.  Being,  however, 
enthusiastic  by  constitution,  as  well  as  devout  by  principle, 
he  prayed  and  preached  in  his  own  house  to  such  persons 
as  would  assemble  to  hear  him  on  Sundays  ;  and,  encour- 
aged by  the  facility  of  which  he  found  himself  possessed, 
and  the  success  with  which  these  beginnings  were  attended, 
he  went  forth  and  preached  to  the  negroes.  This  conduct 
drew  upon  him  contempt,  or  compassion,  according  as  it 
was  imputed  to  folly  or  to  insanity.*    But  he  had  his  re- 

*  A  son  of  Mr.  Gilbert  published,  in  the  year  1796,  "  The  Hurricane, 
a  Theosophical  and  Western  Eclogue,"  and  shortly  afterward  placarded 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  269 


ward :  the  poor  negroes  listened  willingly  to  the  consola- 
tions of  Christianity,  and  he  lived  to  form  some  two  hun- 
dred persons  into  a  Methodist  Society,  according  to  Mr. 
Wesley's  rules. 

After  Mr.  Gilbert's  death  the  black  people  were  kept 
together  by  two  negresses,  who  prayed  to  them  when  they 
assembled,  and  preserved  among  them  the  forms  of  the 
Society  as  far  as  they  could,  and  the  spirit  of  devotion.  In 
the  year  1778,  a  shipwright,  by  name  John  Baxter,  who 
was  in  the  king's  service,  removed  from  the  royal  docks  at 
Chatham  to  English  Harbor  in  Antigua,  and,  happily  for 
himself  and  the  poor  negroes,  he  survived  his  removal  to 
one  of  the  most  fatal  places  in  all  those  islands.  He  had 
been  for  some  years  a  leader  among  the  Methodists,  and 
upon  his  arrival,  he  took  upon  himself  immediately,  as  far 
as  his  occupation  would  allow,  the  management  of  the 
Society.  His  Sundays  he  devoted  entirely  to  them  ;  and 
on  the  other  days  of  the  week,  after  his  day's  work  was 
done,  he  rode  about  to  the  different  plantations,  to  instruct 
and  exhort  the  slaves,  when  they  also  were  at  rest  from 
their  labor.  Some  of  them  would  come  three  or  four 
miles  to  hear  him.  He  found  it  hard  to  flesh  and  blood, 
he  said,  to  work  all  day,  and  then  ride  ten  miles  at  night 
to  preach  ;  but  the  motive  supported  him,  and  he  was 
probably  the  happiest  man  upon  the  island.  He  married, 
and  thereby  established  himself  there.  The  contributions 
of  his  hearers,  though  he  was  the  only  white  man  in  the 
Society,  enabled  him  to  build  a  chapel.  He  wrote  to  Mr. 
Wesley  from  time  to  time,  requested  his  directions,  and 
expressed  a  hope  that  some  one  would  come  to  his  assist- 
ance. **  The  old  slanders,"  said  he,  "  desire  me  to  inform 
you  that  you  have  many  children  in  Antigua,  whom  you 
never  saw." 

Baxter  was,  after  a  while,  assisted  by  an  English  woman, 
who  having  an  annuity  charged  upon  an  estate  in  the  island, 

the  walls  in  London  with  the  largest  bills  that  had  at  that  time  been 
seen,  announcing  the  "  The  Law  of  Fire."  I  knew  him  well,  and  look 
back  with  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  the  hours  which  I  have  passed  iu 
his  society,  when  his  mind  was  in  ruins.  His  madness  was  of  the  most 
incomprehensible  kind,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  notes  to  the  Hurricane ; 
but  the  poem  contains  passages  of  exquisite  beauty.  I  have  among  my 
papers  some  curious  memorials  of  this  interesting  man.  They  who 
remember  him  (as  some  of  my  readers  will)  will  not  be  displeased  at 
seeing  him  thus  mentioned  with  the  respect  and  regret  which  are  due 
to  the  wreck  of  a  noble  mind. 


270 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


had  found  it  necessary  to  reside  there.  She  opened  her 
house  for  prayers  every  day,  and  set  apart  one  evening 
every  v^eek  for  reading  the  Scriptures,  to  all  who  would 
hear.  These  meetings  were  much  frequented ;  **  for  the 
English,"  says  this  lady,  "  can  scarcely  conceive  the  hunger 
and  thirst  expressed  by  a  poor  negro,  when  he  has  learned 
that  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  is  under  the  operation  of 
awakening  influences."  Further  assistance  arrived  in  a 
manner  remarkable  enough  to  deserve  relation.  An  old 
man  and  his  wife  at  Waterford,  being  past  their  labor, 
were  supported  by  two  of  their  sons.  They  were  Method- 
ists :  the  children  had  been  religiously  brought  up,  and 
in  their  old  age  the  parents  found  the  benefit  of  having 
trained  them  in  the  way  they  should  go.  At  the  close  of 
the  American  war,  America  was  represented  to  the  two 
sons  as  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  and  they  were 
advised  to  emigrate.  Go  they  would  not,  without  the 
consent  of  their  parents ;  and  the  old  people  entreated 
them  to  wait  a  little,  till  they  should  be  in  the  grave  :  the 
youths,  however,  unwilling  to  wait,  and  incapable  of  for- 
saking their  parents,  proposed  that  they  should  go  together, 
and  succeeded  in  persuading  them.  Having  no  means  of 
paying  for  their  passage,  the  poor  lads  indented  themselves 
to  the  captain  of  a  ship,  who  was  collecting  white  slaves  for 
the  Virginia  market ;  and,  as  the  old  people  could  be  of 
no  use  as  bond-servants,  the  boys  were  bound  for  a  double 
term  on  their  account.  How  the  parents,  incapable  as  they 
were  of  supporting  themselves,  were  to  be  supported  in  a 
strange  land,  when  their  children  were  in  bondage,  was  a 
question  which  never  occun^ed  to  any  one  of  the  family. 
A  married  son  and  his  wife  came  on  board  to  take  leave, 
and  they  were  persuaded  by  their  relations  and  by  the 
crimping  skipper  to  join  the  party  upon  the  same  terms. 
No  sooner  had  they  sailed  than  they  were  made  to  feel  the 
bitterness  of  their  condition  :  slaves  they  had  made  them- 
selves, and  like  slaves  they  were  treated  by  the  white  slave- 
monger  who  had  entrapped  them.  Happily  for  them,  after 
a  miserable  voyage,  the  ship  was  driven  to  the  West  In- 
dies, and  put  into  Antigua  like  a  floating  wreck,  almost  by 
miracle.  The  old  Irishman,  hearing  that  there  were  Meth- 
odists on  the  island,  inquired  for  the  preaching-house,  and 
Methodism  proved  more  advantageous  to  him  than  free- 
masonry would  h^ve  done.  It  procured  him  real  and 
active  friends,  who  ransomed  the  whole  family.  Good 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


271 


situations  were  procured  for  the  three  sons :  the  old  man 
acted  under  Baxter ;  being  well  acquainted  with  the  rou- 
tine of  the  society,  he  was  of  great  use ;  and  by  the  year 
1786  the  persons  under  their  spiritual  care  amounted  to 
nearly  two  thousand,  chiefly  negroes. 

In  that  year  Dr.  Coke  embarked  upon  his  second  voy- 
age to  America.  The  season  was  stormy,  and  the  captain, 
being  one  of  those  persons  who  have  a  great  deal  of  super- 
stition without  the  slightest  piety,  conceived  that  the  con- 
tinuance of  bad  weather  was  brought  on  by  the  praying 
and  preaching  of  the  doctor  and  his  companions.  One 
day,  therefore,  in  the  force  of  the  tempest,  while  these  pass- 
engers were  fervently  praying  for  the  preservation  of  the 
ship  and  the  lives  of  all  on  board,  the  skipper  paraded  the 
deck  in  great  agitation,  muttering  to  himself,  but  so  as  to  be 
distinctly  heard,  "  We  have  a  Jonah  on  board  !  We  have 
a  Jonah  on  board  !"  till,  having  worked  himself  almost  into 
a  state  of  madness,  he  burst  into  Coke's  cabin,  seized  his 
books  and  writings,  and  tossed  them  into  the  sea  ;  and, 
griping  the  doctor  himself,  who  was  a  man  of  diminutive 
stature,  swore  that  if  ever  he  made  another  prayer  on 
board  that  ship  he  would  throw  him  overboard  after  his 
papers.  At  length  the  vessel,  after  imminent  danger,  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Antigua.  It  was  on  a  Christmas-day. 
Dr.  Coke  went  in  search  of  Mr.  Baxter,  and  met  him  on 
the  way  to  officiate  at  the  chapel.  To  the  latter  this  event 
was  as  joyful  as  it  was  unexpected  :  the  former  performed 
the  service  for  him,  and  administered  the  sacrament.  He 
was  delighted  with  the  appearance  of  the  congregation, 
one  of  the  cleanest,  he  said,  that  he  had  ever  seen.  The 
negresses  were  dressed  in  white  linen  gowns,  petticoats, 
handkerchiefs,  and  caps  ;  and  their  whole  dress,  which  was 
beautifully  clean,  appeared  the  whiter  from  the  contrast  of 
their  skins. 

Dr.  Coke's  arrival  occasioned  a  considerable  stir  in  the 
capital  of  this  little  island.  He  preached  twice  a  day,  and 
curiosity  brought  such  numbers  to  hear  him  that,  in  the 
evenings,  the  poor  negroes,  who,  by  their  savings,  had  built 
the  chapel,  could  find  no  room  in  it.  The  good  effect  of 
Methodism  upon  the  slaves  had  been  so  apparent  that  it 
was  no  longer  necessary,  as  it  formerly  had  been,  to  enforce 
military  law  during  the  holydays  which  were  allowed  them 
at  Christmas.  They  were  made  better  servants,  as  they 
were  instructed  in  their  moral  and  religious  duties.  Method- 


272 


METHODISM   IN   THE   WEST  INDIES. 


ism,  therefore,  was  in  high  favor  there ;  and  Dr.  Coke  was 
informed  that,  if  five  hundred  a  year  would  detain  him  in 
Antigua,  it  should  be  forthcoming.  "  God  be  praised,"  he 
Bays,  five  hundred  thousand  a  year  would  be  to  me  a 
feather,  when  opposed  to  my  usefulness  in  the  Church  of 
Christ."  He  and  his  companions  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained, and  treated,  he  says,  rather  like  princes  than  sub- 
jects ;  and  the  company  of  merchants  invited  them  to  a 
dinner  which  was  given  to  Prince  William  Henr)\ 

Here  Dr.  Coke  held  what  he  calls  an  Infant  Conference. 
Invitations  for  the  preachers  came  from  St.  Vincent's ;  and 
recommendatory  letters  were  given  them  to  the  islands  of 
St.  Eustatius  and  St.  Kitt's.  "  All  is  of  God,"  said  Coke; 
"  I  have  no  doubt  but  it  would  be  an  open  resistance  to  the 
clear  providences  of  the  Almighty  to  remove  any  one  of 
the  missionaries  at  present  from  this  country."  Of  the 
three  who  had  embarked  with  him  from  England  for  Amer- 
ica, it  was  deteiTnined  that  one  should  remain  in  Antigua  ; 
and  Baxter  gave  up  the  place  which  he  held  under  gov- 
ernment, and  which  was  worth  d£400  a  year  currency,  that 
he  might  devote  his  whole  strength  and  time  to  the  spirit- 
ual service  of  his  fellow-creatures.  His  wife,  though  a 
Creole,  well  born,  and  delicately  brought  up,  readily  con- 
sented to  this  sacrifice,  and  cheerfully  submitted  to  her  part 
of  the  discomforts  and  privations  inseparable  from  an  itin- 
erant life  ;  for,  even  among  the  islands,  itinerancy  was  con- 
sidered as  an  essential  part  of  the  Methodist  economy. 
Leavinof,  therefore,  Mr.  Warrenner  in  Antig^ua,  Coke  de- 
parted,  with  Baxter  and  the  other  two  brothers,  to  recon- 
noitre the  neighboring  islands.  They  were  hospitably  en- 
tertained at  Dominica,  at  St.  Vincent's,  Nevis,  and  St.  Kitt's ; 
and  though  the  commanding  officer  would  not  give  per- 
mission for  preaching  in  the  barracks  at  St.  Vincent's, 
where  some  religious  soldiers  would  soon  have  formed  a 
society,  Dr.  Coke  thought  the  general  prospect  so  encour- 
aging that  he  said  the  will  of  God,  in  respect  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  missionary  there,  was  as  clear  as  if  it  had 
been  written  with  a  sunbeam.  Mr.  Clarke,  accordingly, 
was  stationed  there,  and  Mr.  Hammet  at  St.  Kitt's. 

When  they  arrived  at  St.  Eustatius,  they  found  that  a 
slave,  by  name  Harry,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Society  in  America,  had  taken  to  exhorting  in 
that  island,  and  had  been  silenced  by  the  governor,  be- 
cause the  slaves  were  so  affected  at  hearing  him  that 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  273 


"  many  fell  down  as  if  they  were  dead,  and  some  remained 
in  a  state  of  stupor  during  several  hours."  Sixteen  per- 
sons had  been  thrown  into  these  fits  in  one  night.  This 
was  a  case  in  which  the  governor's  interference  was  per- 
fectly justifiable  and  right.*  The  day  after  this  event, 
Coke  and  his  companions  landed  and  waited  upon  the  per- 
sons in  authority.  They  soon  found  that  the  degree  of  free- 
dom which  is  every  where  enjoyed  under  the  British  gov- 
ernment is  not  to  be  found  in  the  dominions  of  any  other 
European  power.  They  were  ordered  to  prepare  their 
confession  of  faith  and  credentials,  and  to  present  them  to 
the  court,  and  to  be  private  in  their  devotions,  till  the  court 
had  considered  whether  their  religion  should  be  tolerated 
or  not.  The  council  were  satisfied  with  the  confession,  and 
Dr.  Coke  was  desired  to  preach  before  them.  But  it  was 
evident  that  the  government  would  not  permit  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  English  mission  upon  that  island,  though  the 
inhabitants  were  exceedingly  desirous  of  it.  Dr.  Coke, 
during  a  fortnight's  stay,  did  what  he  could  toward  forming 
such  as  were  willing  into  classes,  and  instructing  them  in 
the  forms  of  Methodism,  and  was  laden  with  presents  of 
sea-stores  and  other  refreshments,  when  he  embarked  from 
thence  to  pursue  his  voyage  to  America. 

So  fair  a  beginning  was  thus  made,  that  from  that  time  it 
became  as  regular  a  part  of  business  for  the  Conference  to 
provide  for  the  West  Indies,  as  for  any  part  of  Great  Brit- 
ain in  which  societies  had  been  raised.  In  the  autumn  of 
1788,  the  indefatigable  Coke  (who  may  properly  be  called 
the  Xavier  of  Methodism)  sailed  a  third  time  for  the  Western 
World,  taking  with  him  three  missionaries  intended  for  the 
Columbian  Islands.  They  were  embarked  in  that  unfor- 
tunate ship,  the  Hankey,  which  has  been  accused  of  im- 
porting, in  a  subsequent  voyage,  the  yellow  fever  from  Bu- 
lama  to  the  West  Indies,  as  if  that  pestilence  were  not  the 
growth  of  those  countries.  Every  thing  was  favorable 
now,  and  the  missionaries  succeeded  so  well  in  conciliating 
the  good  will  of  the  crew,  that  when  they  took  leave  of 
them  at  Barbadoes,  many  of  the  men  were  in  tears,  and  the 
sailors  bade  them  farewell  with  three  hearty  cheers  as  the 
boat  dropped  astern.    Coke  with  his  companions  landed  at 

*  I  should  not  have  dared  assert  this  so  positively.  I  rather  think  it 
might  have  been  wiser  in  the  governor  to  have  waited  for  the  result 
at  the  end  of  a  week.  Should  the  poor  negroes  have  become  quiet,  in- 
dnstrioos  servants,  the  fits  would  have  been  a  cheap  purchase. — S.  T.  0. 

M* 


274 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


Bridgetown,  as  adventurously  as  ever  knight-errant  set 
foot  upon  an  island  with  his  squire  and  his  dwarf.  None 
of  the  party  supposed  that  they  had  a  single  acquaintance 
in  Barbadoes.  There  were,  however,  some  soldiers  there, 
who  had  been  quartered  at  Kinsale,  in  Ireland,  where  Mr. 
Pearce,  one  of  the  missionaries,  had  preached  :  he  was 
presently  recognized  by  a  sergeant,  who  embraced  him 
without  ceremony ;  and  it  appeared  that  this  sergeant  and 
some  of  his  comrades  had  kept  up  the  forms  of  Methodism, 
and  were  in  the  habit  of  exhorting  the  people  in  a  ware- 
house which  a  friendly  merchant  had  lent  them  for  that 
purpose.  Before  Dr.  Coke  could  wait  upon  this  merchant, 
he  received  an  invitation  to  breakfast  with  him  :  he  proved 
to  have  been  one  of  his  hearers  in  America,  where  four  of 
his  negroes  had  been  baptized  by  the  doctor.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  immediately  received  into  his  house  :  they 
were  encouraged  by  the  governor,  and  by  the  merchants 
and  planters  to  whom  they  were  introduced.  Pearce  was 
left  upon  the  island ;  and  Coke,  having  placed  every  thing 
in  as  favorable  a  train  as  could  be  wished,  proceeded  to 
St.  Vincent's,  whither  the  other  two  missionaries  had  pre- 
ceded him,  and  where  he  was  joined  by  Baxter.  One  of 
the  party  was  stationed  there,  to  assist  the  former  preacher ; 
and  Baxter  and  his  wife  willingly  consented  to  take  up  their 
abode  among  the  Caribs,  and  endeavor  at  the  same  time 
to  civilize  and  to  convert  them. 

Continuing  his  circuit,  Dr.  Coke  formed  a  society  at 
Dominica,  and  finding  all  prosperous  at  Antigua  and  St. 
Kitt's,  visited  St.  Eustatius.  Here  he  found  that  the  aspects 
were  different.  The  black,  Harry,  after  the  doctor's  de- 
parture from  his  former  visit,  interpreting  the  governor's 
prohibition  according  to  the  letter  rather  than  the  spirit, 
abstained  indeed  from  preaching  to  his  fellow-slaves,  but 
ventured  to  pray  with  them.  For  this  offense  he  was  pub- 
licly whipped  and  imprisoned,  and  then  banished  from  the 
island.  And  an  edict  was  issued,  declaring,  that  if  any 
white  person  should  be  found  praying  with  others  who 
were  not  of  his  family,  he  should  be  fined  fifty  pieces  of 
eight  for  the  first  offense,  a  hundred  for  the  second,  and 
for  the  third  offense  he  should  be  whipped,  his  goods  con- 
fiscated, and  himself  banished  the  island.  A  free  man  of 
color  was  to  receive  thirty-nine  stripes  for  the  first  offense, 
and  for  the  second  to  be  flogofed  and  banished  :  and  a  slave 
was  to  be  flogged  every  time  he  was  found  offending. 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


275 


"  This,  I  think,"  says  Dr.  Coke,  **  is  the  first  instance, 
known  among  mankind,  of  a  persecution  openly  avowed 
against  religion  itself.  The  persecutions  among  the  heath- 
ens were  supported  under  the  pretence  that  the  Christians 
brought  in  strange  gods ;  those  among  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics were  under  the  pretext  of  the  Protestants  introducing 
heresies  into  the  Church ;  but  this  is  openly  and  avowedly 
against  prayer,  the  great  key  to  every  blessing."  Not- 
withstanding this  edict,  and  the  rigor  with  which  this  edict 
was  enforced,  so  strong  was  the  desire  of  the  poor  people 
on  this  island  for  religious  instruction  and  religious  sympa- 
thy, that  Dr.  Coke  found  above  two  hundred  and  fifty  per- 
sons there  classed  as  Methodists,  and  baptized  a  hundred 
and  forty  of  them.  He  remained  there  only  one  night; 
but  the  sloop  which  he  had  hired  to  carry  him  and  his  com- 
panions to  St.  Kitt's,  having  received  much  damage  by 
striking  against  a  ship,  they  were  obliged  to  return  ;  and 
Coke,  who  interpreted  this  accident  as  a  plain  declaration 
of  Providence,  whereby  he  was  called  on  to  bear  a  public 
testimony  for  Christ,  immediately  hired  a  large  room  for  a 
month.  Whatever  danger  might  be  incurred  would  fall 
upon  himself,  he  thought,  by  this  proceeding ;  whereas  his 
friends  would  have  been  amenable  to  the  laws  if  he  had 
•preached  in  their  houses.  The  next  day,  therefore,  he 
boldly  performed  service,  and  gave  notice  that  he  intended 
to  officiate  again  on  the  morrow.  But  Dutch  governors 
are  not  persons  who  will  suffer  their  authority  to  be  set  at 
naught  with  impunity  ;  and  on  the  ensuing  morning  the  doc- 
tor received  a  message  from  the  governor,  requiring  him, 
and  two  of  his  companions,  who  were  specified  by  name, 
to  engage  that  they  would  not,  publicly  or  privately,  by 
day  or  by  night,  preach  either  to  whites  or  blacks,  during 
their  stay  in  that  island,  on  pain  of  prosecution,  arbitrary 
punishment,  and  banishment.  "  We  withdrew  to  consult," 
says  he ;  "  and  after  considering  that  we  were  favored  by 
Providence  with  an  open  door  in  other  islands  for  as  many 
missionaries  as  we  could  spare ;  and  that  God  was  carry- 
ing on  his  blessed  work  even  in  this  island  by  means  of 
secret  class-meetings ;  and  that  Divine  Providence  may  in 
future  redress  these  grievances  by  a  change  of  the  govern- 
or, or  by  the  interference  of  the  superior  powers  in  Holland 
in  some  other  way,  we  gave  for  answer,  that  we  would 
obey  the  government ;  and,  having  nothing  more  at  present 
to  do  in  that  place  of  tyranny,  oppression,  and  wrong,  we 


276 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


returned  to  St.  Kitt's,  blessing  God  for  a  British  constitu- 
tion and  a  British  government." 

There  was  in  Dr.  Coke's  company  a  third  missionary, 
by  name  Brazier,  whom  the  governor  had  not  heard  of, 
and  who  therefore  was  not  included  in  the  mandate.  He 
thought  himself  perfectly  justified  in  leaving  this  missionary 
upon  the  island.  There  were  times  in  which  such  an  ex- 
periment might  have  cost  the  contraband  preacher  his  life  ; 
and  if  the  governor  had  been  as  eager  to  persecute  as 
Coke  supposed  him  to  be,  Brazier  would  certainly  not  have 
got  off  with  a  whole  skin.  The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  the 
governor's  interference  had  in  the  first  instance  been  neces- 
sary. Harry's  preaching  was  of  that  kind  which  ought  not 
to  be  tolerated,  because  it  threw  his  hearers  into  fits.*  If 
Dr.  Coke,  on  his  first  landing,  had  distinctly  expressed  his 
disapprobation  of  such  excesses,  things  might  possibly  have 
taken  a  different  turn.  But  he  had  learned  to  regard  them 
as  the  outward  signs  and  manifestations  of  inward  grace  ; 
and  the  governor,  seeing  that  the  black  preacher  was  ac- 
knowledged by  him  as  a  fellow-laborer,  regarded  him  and 
his  companions  as  troublesome  fanatics,  and  treated  them 
accordingly.  And  when  he  discovered  that  Brazier  had 
been  clandestinely  left  behind,  he  behaved  with  more  tem- 
per than  might  have  been  expected,  in  merely  ordering 
him  to  leave  the  island.  A  man  in  power,  who  retained 
something  of  the  religious  part  of  the  old  Dutch  character, 
removed  the  banished  missionary  to  the  little  island  of  Saba, 
a  dependency  upon  St.  Eustatias,  containing  about  three 
thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom  one  third  were  whites. 
There  was  a  respectable  church  there  ;  but  the  people  had 
been  seventeen  years  without  a  minister.  They  received 
Brazier  with  the  greatest  joy  ;  and  governor,  council,  and 
people  entreated  him  to  take  up  his  abode  among  them, 
offering  him  the  church,  the  parsonage,  and  a  sufficient 
maintenance.  Coke  went  there,  and  was  delighted  with 
the  kindness  and  simplicity  of  the  people.  He  informed 
them  what  the  economy  of  the  Methodists  was,  and  partic- 
ularly explained  to  them  what  he  called  the  "  grand  and  in- 

*  [Had  Robert  Sou  they  been  the  governor  of  Jerusalem  when  Peter 
the  fisherman  preached  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  "  threw  his  hear- 
ers into  fits,"  his  sense  of  duty  would  certainly  have  compelled  him  to 
see  that  the  "  lanatic"  chould  desist  from  his  course.  The  high-priest 
would  have  found  in  him  another  sort  of  man  than  such  temporizers  as 
Nicodemus  and  Gamaliel. — Am.  Ed.] 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


277 


dispensable  custom  of  changing  their  ministers."  They 
were  willing  to  comply  with  every  thing ;  and  though  Bra- 
zier had  been  ordered  by  the  Conference  to  Jamaica,  Dr. 
Coke  consented  to  leave  him  at  Saba.  But  when  the  gov- 
ernor of  St.  Eustatius  knew  where  he  was,  he  compelled 
the  government  to  dismiss  him,  though  with  sorrow  and  re- 
luctance on  their  part. 

Two  missionaries  had  been  appointed  to  Jamaica;  but 
Coke  having  thus  disposed  of  the  one,  left  the  other  to 
divide  his  labors  between  Tortola  and  Santa  Cruz  (on 
which  little  island  the  Danish  governor  promised  him  all 
the  encouragement  in  his  power),  and  proceeded  to  Ja- 
maica alone,  merely  to  prepare  the  way.  Some  of  the 
higher  orders,  being  drunk  at  the  time,  insulted  him  while 
he  was  preaching  at  Kingston,  and  would  have  offered 
some  personal  indignities  to  him,  if  they  had  not  been 
controlled  by  the  great  majority  of  the  congregation  :  but, 
on  the  whole,  he  was  so  well  received,  and  hospitably  en- 
tertained, that  he  says,  in  honor  of  the  island,  he  never 
visited  any  place,  either  in  Europe  or  America,  where 
Methodism  had  not  taken  root,  in  which  he  received  so 
many  civilities  as  in  Jamaica.  He  went  therefrom  to 
America,  and  from  thence  returned  to  England,  in  full 
persuasion  that  the  prospects  of  the  Society,  both  in  Ja- 
maica and  the  Leeward  Islands,  were  as  favorable  as  could 
be  desired. 

The  cost  of  this  spiritual  colonization  now  became 
serious ;  for  the  resources  of  the  Connection  did  not  keep 
pace  with  its  progress  and  its  necessarily  increased  ex- 
penditure. The  missions  could  not  be  supported  unless 
separate  funds  were  raised  for  the  purpose ;  and  those 
funds  could  only  be  drawn  from  voluntary  contributions. 
By  the  request  of  the  Conference,  Dr.  Coke  (never  so 
happy  as  when  he  was  most  actively  employed  in  such 
service)  made  a  tour  of  sixteen  months  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  preaching  in  behalf  of  the  negroes,  for  whom 
these  missions  were  especially  designed  ;  and  collecting 
money  by  these  means,  and  by  personal  application  to 
such  as  were  likely  to  contribute — going  himself  from 
door  to  door.*    The  rebuffs  which  he  frequently  met  with, 

*  A  captain  in  the  navy,  from  whom  he  obtained  a  subscription, 
calling  upon  an  acquaintance  of  Coke's  the  same  morning,  said,  "  Do 
you  know  any  thing  of  a  little  fellow  who  calls  himself  Dr.  Coke,  and 
who  is  going  about  begging  money  for  missionaries  to  be  sent  among 


278 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


did  not  deter  him  from  the  work  which  he  had  undertaken  ; 
and  he  obtained  enough  to  discharge  the  whole  debt  which 
had  been  contracted  on  this  account,  and  to  proceed  with 
the  missions  upon  an  extended  scale.  In  the  autumn  of 
1790,  he  made  a  third  voyage  to  the  Columbian  Islands. 
A  chapel  had  been  built  at  Barbadoes,  during  his  absence, 
capable  of  holding  some  seven  hundred  persons ;  but  the 
hopes  of  those  by  whom  this  building  had  been  directed, 
had  been  greater  than  their  foresight.  Though  the  curate 
at  Bridgetown,  Mr.  Dent,  was  the  only  clergyman  in  all 
the  islands  who  countenanced  the  Methodists,  and  was 
heartily  glad  at  receiving  from  them  the  assistance  which 
he  wanted  ;  though  the  governor  was  not  unfavorable  to 
them,  and  they  had  begun  under  such  favorable  appear- 
ances, the  preacher  had  become  obnoxious  ;  the  nickname 
of  Hallelujahs  had  been  fixed  upon  his  followers,  and  they 
had  undergone  that  sort  of  opposition  which  they  dignify 
by  the  name  of  persecution.  Persecution,  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  they  have  since  that  time  suffered  in 
in  some  of  the  islands ;  but  in  these  instances  the  mission- 
ary seems  to  have  been  protected  by  the  magistrates  when 
he  appealed  for  redress.  At  St.  Vincent's,  the  attempt  to 
civilize  the  Caribs  had  altogether  failed.  This  was  owing 
to  the  French  priests  at  Martinico.  The  French  mission- 
aries have  rendered  themselves  liable  to  the  heavy  accusa- 
tion of  sacrificing  the  interests  of  Christianity  to  the  political 
views  of  their  country.  Of  this  their  conduct  in  Canada 
affords  scandalous  proofs ;  and  on  the  present  occasion 
they  acted  in  the  same  manner.  They  persuaded  the 
Caribs,  who  went  to  Martinico  on  one  of  their  trading 
visits,  that  the  Methodists  were  spies,  whom  the  king  of 
England  had  sent  to  explore  their  land  ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  had  finished  their  errand,  they  would  retire,  and  an 
army  would  be  sent  to  conquer  the  country.  The  Caribs 
had  regarded  Baxter  as  their  father,  till  they  were  deceived 
by  this  villainous  artifice.  They  then  behaved  so  sullenly 
toward  him,  that  he  thought  it  advisable  to  hasten  with  his 
wife  out  of  their  power.  When  Mrs.  Baxter  took  leave  of 
these  poor  savages,  to  whose  instruction  she  had  vainly 
devoted  herself,  she  wept  bitterly,  and  prayed  that  they 

the  slaves?"  "  I  know  him  well,"  was  the  reply.  "  He  seems,"  re- 
joined the  captain,  to  be  a  heavenly-minded  little  de\'il.  He  coaxed 
me  out  of  two  guineas  this  morning." — Drew^s  Life  of  Dr.  Coke,  p- 
388. 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


279 


might  have  another  call,  and  might  not  reject  it  as  they 
had  done  this.  But  among  the  other  casts  upon  the  island 
the  preachers  were  well  received.  The  negroes,  who  in 
Barbadoes  were  remarkably  indifferent  to  religious  in- 
struction, here  were  exceedingly  desirous  of  it ;  and  even 
the  Cathohc  families  showed  favor  to  the  missionaries,  and 
sent  for  Baxter  to  baptize  their  children.  The  prospect 
was  still  more  favorable  at  Grenada.  Mr.  Dent  had  re- 
cently been  presented  to  the  living  of  St.  George's  in  that 
island  :  and  the  governor.  General  Matthews,  requested 
Dr.  Coke  to  send  missionaries  there,  saying  it  was  his  wish 
that  the  negroes  should  be  fully  instructed,  and  there  would 
be  work  enough  for  their  preachers  and  for  the  clergy  of 
the  island  too. 

The  Methodists  were  increasing  in  Antigua  :  but  here 
a  symptom  appeared  of  that  enthusiasm  of  which  it  is  so 
difficult  for  Methodism  to  clear  itself,  sanctioned  as  it  has 
been  by  Wesley.  At  the  baptism  of  some  adults,  one  of 
them  was  so  overcome  by  her  feelings  that  she  fell  into  a 
swoon ;  and  Dr.  Coke,  instead  of  regarding  this  as  a  dis- 
order, and  impressing  upon  his  disciples  the  duty  of  con- 
trolling their  emotions,  spoke  of  it  as  a  memorable  thing, 
and  with  evident  satisfaction  related  that,  as  she  lay  en- 
tranced with  an  enraptured  countenance,  all  she  said  for 
some  time  was,  Heaven  !  Heaven  !  Come  !  Come  !  It 
requires  more  charity  and  more  discrimination  than  the 
majority  of  men  possess,  not  to  suspect  either  the  sincerity 
or  the  sanity  of  persons  who  aim  at  producing  effects  like 
this  by  their  ministry,  or  exult  in  them  when  they  are  pro- 
duced. Not  deterred  by  his  former  ill  success  at  St. 
Eustatius,  Coke,  with  the  perseverance  that  characterized 
him  in  all  his  undertakings,  made  a  third  visit  there,  and 
waited  upon  the  new  governor,  who  had  recently  arrived 
from  Holland.  The  Dutchman,  he  says,  received  him 
with  very  great  rudeness  indeed  ;  but  he  ought  to  have 
considered  it  as  an  act  of  courtesy  that  he  was  not  imme- 
diately sent  off  the  island.  The  Methodists  there  were  in 
the  habit  of  regularly  holding  their  class-meetings  ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  edict,  there  were  no  fewer  than  eight 
exJiorters  among  them.  One  of  these  persons  called  upon 
the  doctor,  requested  him  to  correspond  with  them,  and 
promised,  in  the  name  of  his  fellows,  punctually  to  obey 
all  the  directions  which  should  be  given  them  concern- 
ing the  management  of  the  Society.    He  told  him,  also, 


280 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


that  many  of  the  free  blacks  of  both  sexes  intended  going 
to  St.  Kitt's  to  receive  the  sacrament,  at  Christmas,  from 
one  of  the  missionaries.  Here  Dr.  Coke  met  with  another 
instance,  which,  if  he  had  been  capable  of  learning  that 
lesson,  might  have  taught  him  how  dangerous  it  is  to  ex- 
cite an  enthusiastic  spirit  of  religion.  The  person  who,  on 
his  former  visits,  had  entertained  him  with  true  hospitality, 
was  in  the  very  depth  of  despair.  "  The  only  reason  he 
gave  for  his  deplorable  situation  was,  that  the  Lord  had 
very  powerfully  called  him,  time  after  time,  to  preach,  and 
he  had  as  often  resisted  the  call,  till  at  last  he  entirely  lost 
a  sense  of  the  favor  of  God.  He  seemed  to  have  no  hope 
left.  We  endeavored,"  the  doctor  adds,  "  to  raise  his 
drooping  head,  but  all  in  vain."  If  this  case  were  known 
to  the  persons  in  office,  as  in  all  likelihood  it  must  have 
been,  it  would  satisfy  them  that  they  had  done  wisely  in 
proscribing  a  system  which  produced  effects  like  this. 
The  person  in  question  conceived  himself  to  be  in  a  state 
of  reprobation,  because  he  had  not  broken  the  laws  of  the 
place  wherein  he  lived.* 

By  this  time  the  alloy  of  Methodism  had  shown  itself  in 
the  islands.  Dr.  Coke  commanded  respect  there  by  his 
manners,  his  education,  and  his  station  in  life.  The  mis- 
sionaries who  followed  him  had  none  of  these  advantages  : 
their  poverty  and  their  peculiarities  provoked  contempt  in 
those  who  had  no  respect  for  their  zeal,  and  who  perceived 
all  that  was  offensive  in  their  conduct,  and  all  that  was 
indiscreet,  but  were  insensible  of  the  good  which  these 
instruments  were  producing.  Indispensable  as  religion  is 
to  the  well-being  of  every  society,  its  salutary  influences 
are  more  especially  required  in  countries  where  the  system 
of  slavery  is  established.  If  the  planters  understood  their 
own  interest,  they  would  see  that  the  missionaries  might 
be  made  their  best  friends  ;  that  by  their  means  the  evils 
of  slavery  might  be  mitigated  ;  and  that,  in  proportion  as 
the  slave  was  made  a  religious  being,  he  became  resigned 
to  his  lot  and  contented.  But  one  sure  effect  of  that 
abominable  system  is,  that  it  demoralizes  the  masters  as 

*  [And  would  not  Peter  and  John,  on  a  certain  occasion,  have  com6 
into  "  a  state  of  reprobation,"  if  they  "  bad  not  broken  the  laws  of  the 
place  wherein  they  lived,"  choosing  to  obey  God  rather  than  men  ? 
But  Mr.  Southey  seems  never  to  have  dreamed  that  Christian  duty, 
which  often  controvenes  human  laws,  is  always  of  paramount  obli- 
gation.— Am.  Ed.] 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  281 


much  as  it  brutalizes  the  slaves.  Men  whose  lives  are 
evil  willingly  disbelieve  the  Gospel  if  they  can  ;  and,  with 
the  greater  part  of  mankind,  belief  and  disbelief  depend 
upon  volition  far  more  than  is  generally  understood.  But 
if  they  can  not  succeed  in  this,  they  naturally  hate  those 
who  preach  zealously  against  their  habitual  vices.  Among 
the  causes,  therefore,  which  soon  made  the  Methodists 
unpopular  in  all  or  most  of  the  Columbian  Islands,  the  first 
place  must  be  assigned  to  that  hateful  licentiousness  which 
prevails  wherever  slavery  exists :  something  is  to  be  allowed 
to  a  contempt  for  the  preachers;  something  to  the  objec- 
tionable practices  of  Methodism,  and  to  a  just  dislike  of 
what  was  offensive  in  its  language  ;  and  perhaps  not  a  little 
to  the  meritorious  zeal  which  the  Society  had  shown  in 
England  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  when 
that  great  question  was  first  agitated  with  such  ardent 
benevolence  on  one  side,  and  such  fierce  repugnance  on 
the  other. 

While  Dr.  Coke  was  in  Antigua,  Baxter  was  assaulted 
at  the  door  of  his  chapel  by  some  drunken  persons  of  the 
higher  order,  who  threatened  to  murder  him.  His  wife 
and  the  negroes  believed  them  to  be  in  eamest :  the  cry 
which  they  raised  was  mistaken  for  a  cry  of  fire,  and  the 
whole  town  was  presently  in  an  uproar.  Baxter  was  in- 
formed by  the  magistrates  that  the  offenders  should  be 
punished  as  they  deserved,  if  he  would  lodge  an  informa- 
tion against  them.  But  it  was  thought  best  to  acknowledge 
a  grateful  sense  of  their  protection,  and  to  decline  the 
prosecution.  Shortly  afterward,  the  chapel  at  St.  Vincent's 
was  broken  open  at  night,  not  by  robbers,  but  by  mis- 
chievous and  probably  drunken  persons,  who  did  what 
mischief  they  could,  and,  carrying  away  the  Bible,  sus- 
pended it  from  the  gallows — a  flagitious  act,  which  caused 
the  magistrates  to  offer  a  large  reward  for  discovering  the 
perpetrators.  This  growing  ill-will  was  more  openly  dis- 
played at  Jamaica,  where  a  missionary  had  been  appointed, 
and  a  chapel  erected  in  Kingston.  The  preacher's  life 
had  been  frequently  endangered  here  by  an  outrageous 
rabble  ;  and  a  person  who  was  considered  to  be  the  chief 
of  the  Methodists  narrowly  escaped  being  stoned  to  death, 
and  was  once  obliged  to  disguise  himself  in  regimentals. 
Attempts  were  made  to  pull  down  the  chapel ;  and  when 
some  of  the  rioters  were  prosecuted,  they  were  acquitted, 
Coke  says,  against  the  clearest  evidence.    The  most  abom- 


282  METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


inable  reports  were  raised  against  Hammet,  the  preacher ; 
and  as  for  Dr.  Coke,  he,  they  said,  had  been  tried  in  Eng- 
land for  horse-stealing,  and  had  fled  the  country  in  order  to 
escape  from  justice. 

Such  was  the  temper  of  the  Jamaica  people,  when  the 
doctor,  with  another  missionary  in  his  company,  landed  at 
Montego  Bay,  in  the  beginning  of  1791.  A  recommenda- 
tory letter  to  a  gentleman  in  the  neighborhood  procured 
them  an  excellent  dinner,  but  no  help  in  their  main  design  ; 
and  they  walked  the  streets,  "  peeping  and  inquiring  for  a 
place  wherein  to  preach,  in  vain."  To  preach  out  of  doors 
in  that  climate,  while  the  sun  is  up,  is  almost  impracticable  ; 
and  at  evening,  the  only  time  when  the  slaves  can  attend,  the 
heavy  dews  render  it  imprudent  and  dangerous.  Dining, 
however,  at  an  ordinary  the  next  day,  and  stating  his  sor- 
row that  he  was  prevented  from  preaching  for  want  of  a 
place,  one  of  the  company  advised  him  to  apply  for  a  large 
room,  which  had  originally  been  the  church,  served  now 
for  assemblies,  and  was  frequently  used  as  a  theater. 
Here  he  preached  every  evening  during  a  short  stay;  and 
though  a  few  bucks  clapped  and  encored  him,  he  was  on 
the  whole  well  satisfied  with  the  attention  of  the  cong-re^a- 
tion,*  and  the  respect  with  which  he  was  treated.  But  at 
Spanish  Town  and  at  Kingston  he  was  grossly  insulted  by 
a  set  of  profligate  young  men  :  their  conduct  roused  in  him 
an  emotion  which  he  had  never  felt  in  the  same  degree 
before,  and  which,  he  says,  he  believed  was  a  spark  of  the 
proper  spirit  of  martyrdom ;  and,  addressing  himself  to 
these  rioters  in  terms  of  just  reproof,  he  told  them  that  he 
was  willing — yea,  desirous  to  suffer  martyrdom,  if  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  might  be  promoted  thereby.  The  effect 
which  he  says  that  this  produced,  was  undoubtedly  assisted 
by  his  station  in  life,  which  enabled  him  to  appear  upon 
equal  terms  with  the  proudest  of  his  assailants.  On  another 
occasion,  when  he  had  ended  his  sermon,  he  told  these  per- 

*  "  On  the  Sunday  morning,"  says  Dr.  Coke  (Journal,  p.  130),  "  we 
went  to  church  ;  but,  a  little  rain  falling,  the  congregation  consisted  only 
of  half  a  dozen,  or  thereabouts,  at  the  exact  time  of  beginning,  on  which 
the  minister  walked  out.  If  he  had  condescended  to  have  waited  ten 
minutes  longer,  we  should  have  been,  I  believe,  about  twenty.  The 
Sunday  before,  also,  there  had  been  no  service.  In  some  of  the  parishes 
of  this  island  there  is  no  church,  nor  any  divine  service  performed,  ex- 
cept the  bm-ial  of  the  dead,  and  christenings  and  weddings,  in  private 
houses,  though  the  lix-ings  are  very  lucrative.  But  I  will  write  no 
more  on  this  subject,  lest  I  should  grow  indignant." 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 


283 


sons  that  he  and  his  brethren  were  determined  to  proceed, 
and  to  apply  to  the  legal  authorities  for  justice,  if  such 
insults  and  outrages  were  continued ;  and  if  justice  were 
not  to  be  found  in  Jamaica,  they  were  sure,  he  said,  of 
obtaining  it  at  home. 

The  affairs  of  Methodism  in  the  West  Indies  were  in 
this  state  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death.  Fourteen 
preachers  were  stationed  there,  of  whom  two  came  from 
the  American  branch.  The  number  of  persons  enrolled 
in  the  Connection  then  amounted  to  about  six  thousand,  of 
whom  two  thirds  were  negroes,  and  the  number  of  white 
persons  did  not  exceed  two  hundred.  A  more  determined 
spirit  of  opposition  was  arising  than  they  had  ever  expe- 
rienced in  Europe ;  but  they  were  sure  of  protection  from 
the  home  government,  and  knew  that  by  perseverance  they 
should  make  their  cause  good. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


SETTLEMENT   OP  THE  CONFERENCE.  MANNERS  AND 

EFFECTS  OF  METHODISM. 

The  year  1784  has  been  called  the  grand  climacterical 
year  of  Methodism,  because  Wesley  then  first  arrogated  to 
himself  an  episcopal  power ;  and  because  in  that  year  the 
legal  settlement  of  the  Conference  was  effected,  whereby 
provision  was  made  for  the  government  of  the  Society 
after  his  death,  as  long  as  it  should  continue. 

The  Methodist  chapels,  with  the  preachers'  houses  an- 
nexed to  them,  had  all  been  conveyed  to  trustees  for  the 
use  of  such  persons  as  should  be  appointed  from  time  to 
time  by  John  or  Charles  Wesley,  during  their  lives,  by  the 
survivor,  and  after  the  death  of  both,  by  the  yearly  Con- 
ference of  the  people  called  Methodists,  in  London,  Bristol, 
or  Leeds.  A  legal  opinion  was  taken,  whether  the  law 
would  recognize  the  Conference,  unless  the  precise  mean- 
ing of  the  word  were  defined  :  the  lawyers  were  of  opinion 
that  it  would  not ;  and  therefore,  at  the  next  meeting  of 
that  body,  Mr.  Wesley  was  unanimously  desired  to  draw 
up  a  deed  which  should  give  a  legal  specification  of  the 
term  ;  the  mode  of  doing  it  being  left  entirely  to  his  dis- 
cretion. The  necessity  for  this  was  obvious.  '*  Without 
some  authentic  deed  fixing  the  meaning  of  the  term,  the 
moment  I  died,  says  he,  the  Conference  had  been  nothing : 
therefore  any  of  the  proprietors  of  land  on  which  our 
preaching-houses  had  been  built  might  have  seized  them 
for  their  own  use,  and  there  would  have  been  none  to 
hinder  them  ;  for  the  Conference  would  have  been  nobody 
— a  mere  empty  name." 

His  first  thought  was  to  name  some  ten  or  twelve  per- 
sons. On  further  consideration,  he  appointed  one  hundred, 
believing,  he  says,  "  there  would  be  more  safety  in  a  great- 
er number  of  counselors;"  aixd,  judging  these  were  as 
many  as  could  meet  without  too  great  an  expense,  and 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE.  285 


without  leaving  any  circuit  deprived  of  preachers  while  the 
Conference  was  assembled.  The  hundred  persons  thus 
nominated  "  being  preachers  and  expounders  of  God's 
holy  Word,  under  the  care  of,  and  in  connection  with,  the 
said  John  Wesley,"  were  declared  to  constitute  the  Con- 
ference, according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the 
various  deeds  in  which  that  term  was  used  ;  and  provision 
was  now  made  for  continuing  the  succession  and  identity  of 
this  body,  wherein  the  administration  of  the  Methodist  Con- 
nection was  to  be  vested  after  the  founder's  death.  They 
were  to  assemble  yearly  at  London,  Bristol,  or  Leeds,  or 
any  other  place  which  they  might  think  proper  to  appoint ; 
and  their  first  act  was  to  be  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  occa- 
sioned by  death  or  other  circumstances.  No  act  was  to  be 
valid,  unless  forty  members  were  present,  provided  the 
whole  body  had  not  been  reduced  below  that  number  by 
death  or  other  causes.  The  duration  of  the  assembly  should 
not  be  less  than  five  days,  nor  more  than  three  weeks,  but 
any  time  between  those  limits  at  their  discretion.  They 
were  to  elect  a  president  and  secretary  from  their  own 
number,  and  the  president  should  have  a  double  vote.  Any 
member  absenting  himself,  without  leave,  from  two  success- 
ive Conferences,  and  not  appearing  on  the  first  day  of  the 
third,  forfeited  his  seat  by  that  absence.  They  had  power 
to  admit  preachers  and  expounders  upon  trial,  to  receive 
them  into  full  connection,  and  to  expel  any  person  for  suf- 
ficient cause  j  but  no  person  might  be  elected  a  member 
of  their  body  till  he  had  been  twelve  months  in  full  connec- 
tion as  a  preacher.  They  might  not  appoint  any  one  to 
preach  in  any  of  their  chapels  who  was  not  a  member  of 
the  Connection,  nor  might  they  appoint  any  preacher  for 
more  than  three  years  to  one  place,  except  ordained  minis- 
ters of  the  Church  of  England.  They  might  delegate  any 
member  or  members  of  their  own  body  to  act  with  full 
power  in  Ireland,  or  any  other  parts  out  of  the  kingdom 
of  Great  Britain.  Whenever  the  Conference  should  be  re- 
duced below  the  number  of  forty  members,  and  continue  so 
reduced  for  three  years,  or  whenever  it  should  neglect  to 
meet  for  three  successive  years,  in  either  of  such  cases  the 
Conference  should  be  extinguished;  and  the  chapels  and 
other  premises  should  vest  in  the  trustees  for  the  time  be- 
ing, in  trust,  that  they  should  appoint  persons  to  preach 
therein.  The  deed  concluded  with  a  provision  that  nothing 
which  it  contained  should  be  construed  so  as  to  extinguish, 


286 


SETTLEMENT   OF  THE  CONFERENCE. 


lessen,  or  abridge  the  life  estate  of  John  and  Charles  Wes- 
ley in  any  of  the  chapels  and  premises. 

At  the  time  when  this  settlement  was  made,  there  were 
one  hundred  and  ninety-one  preachers  in  full  connection ; 
they  who  were  omitted  in  the  list  of  the  hundred  were 
offended  as  well  as  disappointed ;  and  they  imputed  their 
exclusion  to  Dr.  Coke,  whom  many  of  them  regarded  with 
jealousy,  because  of  the  place  which  he  deservedly  held  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  opinion,  and  the  conspicuous  rank  which  he 
filled  in  the  society.  He  was  grievously  wronged  by  this 
suspicion ;  for  he  has  declared,  and  there  can  be  no  possi- 
ble grounds  for  doubting  his  veracity,  that  his  opinion  at 
the  time  was,  that  every  preacher  in  full  connection  should 
be  a  member  of  the  Conference.  Wesley  acted  upon  his 
own  judgment ;  and  the  reasons  which  he  assigned  for  de- 
termining the  number  were  satisfactory.  Five  of  the  ex- 
cluded preachers,  who  thought  themselves  most  aggrieved, 
sent  circular  letters  to  those  who  were  in  the  same  case 
with  themselves,  inviting  them  to  canvass  the  business  in 
the  ensuing  Conference,  and,  in  fact,  to  form  a  regular  op- 
position to  Mr.  Wesley.  They  had  reason  to  expect  that 
they  should  be  powerfully  supported ;  but,  when  the  as- 
sembly met,  Wesley  explained  his  motives  in  a  manner 
that  carried  conviction  with  it,  reproved  the  persons  who 
had  issued  the  circular  letters  with  great  severity,  and  call- 
ed upon  all  those  who  agreed  with  him  in  opinion  to  stand 
up  ;  upon  which  the  whole  Conference  rose,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  five  malcontents.  Mr.  Fletcher  interfered 
in  their  behalf,  and  by  his  means  they  were  induced  to  ac- 
knowledge that  they  had  sinned  ;  and  a  verbal  promise, 
according  to  their  own  account,  was  given  them,  that  Mr. 
Wesley  would  take  measures  for  putting  them  on  a  footing 
with  the  rest.  He  could  only  mean  that  they  would  be  ap- 
pointed members  of  the  Conference  as  vacancies  occurred ; 
and  it  appears  by  their  own  statement,  also,  that  they  had 
not  patience  to  wait  for  this,  but,  in  the  course  of  the  year, 
withdrew  from  the  Connection,  complaining  of  their  wrongs, 
talking  of  their  indisputable  rights,  and  appealing  to  an 
original  compact  which  had  no  existence.  On  the  contra- 
ry, Wesley  had  always  taken  especial  care  to  assert,  as  well 
as  to  exercise,  his  authority  over  the  society  which  he  had 
raised,  and  the  preachers,  whom  he  received  as  his  assist- 
ants, not  his  equals  ;  still  less  as  persons  who  might  oppose 
and  control  him. 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CONFEREXCE.  287 


"Wesley  prided  himself  upon  the  economy  of  his  society, 
and  upon  his  management  of  it.  It  was  the  peculiar  talent, 
he  said,  which  God  had  given  him.  He  possessed  that  tal- 
ent, beyond  all  doubt,  in  a  remarkable  degree.  The  con- 
stitution of  Methodism,  like  most  forms  of  goveniment,  had 
arisen  out  of  accidents  and  circumstances  :  but  Wesley  had 
availed  himself  of  these  with  great  skill,  and  made  them 
subservient  to  his  views  and  purposes  as  they  arose  :  what- 
ever power  of  mind  was  displayed  in  the  formation  of 
Methodism  was  his  own.  In  this  respect  he  differs  from 
those  monastic  patriarchs  with  whom  he  may  most  obvious- 
ly be  compared.  St.  Benedict  compiled  his  rule  from  elder 
statutes,  modifying  them,  and  adapting  them  to  his  own 
time  and  country.  St.  Francis  seems  to  have  become  the 
tool  of  his  artful  and  ambitious  disciples  ;  and  Loyola  was 
not  the  architect  of  the  admirable  structure  which  he  found- 
ed. But  the  system  of  Methodism  was  Wesley's  own  work. 
The  task  of  directing  it  was  not  so  difficult  as  might  at  first 
appear.  His  rank,  his  attainments,  his  abilities,  and  his  rep- 
utation, secured  for  him  so  decided  a  superiority  that  no 
person  in  his  own  community  could,  with  the  slightest  pros- 
pect of  success,  dispute  it ;  and,  in  the  latter  years  of  his 
life,  that  superiority  was  still  further  increased  by  his  ven- 
erable age,  and  the  respect  which  he  had  then  obtained 
even  among  strangers.  Those  who  were  weary  of  acting 
under  his  direction  as  preachers,  or  of  observing  his  rules 
as  members,  either  withdrew,  or  were  easily  dismissed. 
This  is  the  great  advantage  which  all  sects  enjoy.  They 
get  rid  of  troublesome  spirits  and  bad  subjects  ;  and  gen- 
eral society  is  ready  to  receive  the  outcasts. 

The  quarterly  renewal  of  the  band  and  class-tickets 
afforded  a  ready  means  of  ejecting  unworthy  and  disobe- 
dient members.  The  terms  of  admission,  therefore,  might 
well  be  made  comprehensive ;  while  these  means  of  cutting 
short  all  discordance  were  in  the  preacher's  hands.  Upon 
this  facility  of  admission  Wesley  prided  himself.  "  One 
circumstance,"  says  he,  is  quite  peculiar  to  the  Method- 
ists :  the  terms  upon  which  any  person  may  be  admitted 
into  their  society.  They  do  not  impose,  in  order  to  their 
admission,  any  opinions  whatever.  Let  them  hold  par- 
ticular or  general  redemption,  absolute  or  conditional  de- 
crees ;  let  them  be  Churchmen  or  Dissenters,  Presbyte- 
rians or  Independents,  it  is  no  obstacle.  Let  them  choose 
one  mode  of  worship  or  another,  it  is  no  bar  to  their  ad- 


288 


MA^NER3   AND  EFFECTS 


mission.  The  Presbyterian  may  be  a  Presbyterian  still ; 
the  Independent  or  Anabaptist  use  his  own  mode  of  wor- 
ship ;  so  may  the  Quaker,  and  none  will  contend  with  him 
about  it.  They  think,  and  let  think.  One  condition,  and 
one  only,  is  required :  a  real  desire  to  save  their  souls. 
Where  this  is,  it  is  enough ;  they  desire  no  more.  They 
lay  stress  upon  nothing  else.  They  ask  only,  Is  thy  heart 
herein  as  my  heart  ?  If  it  be,  give  me  thy  hand.  Is  there 
any  other  society  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  that  is  so  re- 
mote from  bigotry] — that  is  so  truly  of  a  catholic  spirit  ] — 
so  ready  to  admit  all  serious  persons  without  distinction] 
Where,  then,  is  there  such  another  society  ]  In  Europe] 
in  the  habitable  world  ]  I  know  none.  Let  any  man  show 
it  me  that  can.  Till  then,  let  no  one  talk  of  the  bigotry  of 
the  Methodists."  The  propriety  of  thus  admitting  persons 
of  opposite  persuasions,  and  of  bearing  with  the  opposition 
which  they  might  raise,  was  once  debated  in  Conference. 
Mr.  Wesley  listened  patiently  to  the  discussion,  and  con- 
cluded it  by  saying,  "  I  have  no  more  right  to  object  to  a 
man  for  holding  a  different  opinion  from  me,  than  I  have 
to  differ  with  a  man  because  he  wears  a  wig,  and  I  wear 
my  own  hair;  but  if  he  takes  his  wig  off,  and  begins  to 
shake  the  powder  about  my  eyes,  I  shall  consider  it  my 
duty  to  get  quit  of  him  as  soon  as  possible." 

Wesley,  indeed,  well  understood  the  importance  of 
unanimity  in  his  Connection ;  and  even  before  he  had 
taken  those  decided  steps  which  prepared  the  way  for  a 
separation  from  the  Church,  aimed,  in  many  of  his  regula- 
tions, at  making  the  Methodists  a  peculiar  people.  For 
this  reason,  he  required  them,  like  the  Quakers,  to  inter- 
maiTy  among  themselves.  This  point  was  determined  in 
the  first  Conference,  the  want  of  such  a  regulation  having 
been  experienced.  '*  Many  of  our  members,"  it  was  said, 
"  have  lately  married  with  unbelievers,  even  with  such  as 
were  wholly  unawakened  ;  and  this  has  been  attended  with 
fatal  consequences.  Few  of  these  have  gained  the  unbe- 
lieving wife  or  husband.  Generally,  they  have  themselves 
either  had  a  heavy  cross  for  life,  or  entirely  fallen  back  into 
the  world."  In  order  to  prevent  such  marriages,  it  was 
decreed  that  every  preacher  should  enforce  the  apostolic 
caution  :  "  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers ;" 
that  whosoever  acted  contrary  to  it  should  be  expelled  the 
Society ;  and  that  all  persons  should  be  exhorted  to  take 
no  step  in  so  weighty  a  matter  without  consulting  the  most 


OF  METHODISM. 


289 


serious  of  their  brethren."  The  rule  was  well  designed 
for  the  preservation  and  increase  of  Methodism;  but  the 
language  savors  strongly  of  that  spiritual  pride  which  sec- 
tarianism of  every  kind  tends  to  excite  and  foster. 

This  was  not  the  only  point  in  which  Wesley  imitated 
the  Quakers.  He  has  himself  said,  that,  having  remarked 
among  them  several  parts  of  Christian  practice,  he  had 
willingly  adopted,  with  some  restrictions,  plainness  of 
speech  and  plainness  of  dress.  In  their  barbarisms  of  lan- 
guage, and  their  superstitious  rejection  of  common  foims 
of  speech,  he  was  too  well  educated  and  too  sensible  to 
follow  them  ;  neither  did  he  recommend  his  followers  to 
imitate  them  in  those  little  particularities  of  dress  which 
could  answer  no  end  but  that  of  distinguishing  them  from 
other  people.  **  To  be  singular,"  he  said,  *'  merely  for  sin- 
gularity's sake,  is  not  the  part  of  a  Christian.  I  do  not, 
therefore,  advise  you  to  wear  a  hat  of  such  dimensions,  or 
a  coat  of  a  particular  form.  Rather,  in  things  that  are  ab- 
solutely indifferent,  humility  and  courtesy  require  you  to 
conform  to  the  customs  of  your  country ;  but  I  advise  you 
to  imitate  them  in  the  neatness  and  in  the  plainness  of  their 
apparel.  In  this  are  implied  two  things  :  that  your  apparel 
be  cheap,  far  cheaper  than  others  in  your  circumstances 
wear,  or  than  you  would  wear  if  you  knew  not  God  ;  that 
it  be  grave,  not  gay,  airy,  or  showy — not  in  the  point  of 
the  fashion." — "Shall  I  be  more  particular]"  he  pursues. 
**  Then  I  exhort  all  those  who  desire  me  to  watch  over  their 
souls,  wear  no  gold,  no  pearls  or  precious  stones ;  use  no 
curling  of  hair  or  costly  apparel,  how  grave  soever.  lad- 
vise  those  wJw  are  able  to  receive  this  saying,  buy  no  velvet, 
no  silks,  no  fine  linen,  no  superfluities,  no  mere  ornaments, 
though  ever  so  much  in  fashion.  Wear  nothing,  though 
you  have  it  already,  which  is  of  a  glaring  color,  or  which 
is  in  any  kind  gay,  glistering,  or  showy ;  nothing  made  in 
the  very  height  of  the  fashion  ;  nothing  apt  to  attract  the 
eyes  of  the  bystanders.  I  do  not  advise  women  to  wear 
rings,  earrings,  necklaces,  laces,  (of  whatever  kind  or 
color),  or  ruffles,  which,  by  little  and  little,  may  shoot  easily 
from  one  to  twelve  inches  deep.  Neither  do  I  advise  men 
to  wear  colored  waistcoats,  shining  stockings,  glittering 
or  costly  buckles  or  buttons,  either  on  their  coats  or  in 
their  sleeves,  any  more  than  gay,  fashionable,  or  ex- 
pensive perukes.  It  is  true,  these  are  little,  very  little 
things,  which  are  not  worth  defending  :  therefore  give 

VOL.  II. — N 


200 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


them  up,  let  them  drop ;  throw  them  away,  without  anoth- 
er word." 

It  was  one  of  the  band-rules,  that  rings,  earrings,  neck- 
laces, lace  and  ruffles  were  not  to  be  worn ;  and  this  rule 
was  ordered  by  the  first  Conference  to  be  enforced,  partic- 
ularly with  regard  to  ruffles  :  band-tickets  were  not  to  be 
given  to  any  person  who  had  not  left  them  off ;  and  no  ex- 
empt case  was  to  be  allowed,  not  even  of  a  married  woman  : 
*'  Better  one  suffer  than  many,"  was  Mr.  Wesley's  language 
at  that  time.  This  injunction  was  afterward  withdrawn  ; 
because  it  was  found  impracticable,  as  interfering  in  a  man- 
ner not  to  be  borne  with  domestic  affairs.  He  admitted, 
therefore,  that  "  women  under  the  yoke  of  unbelieving 
parents  or  husbands  (as  well  as  men  in  office)  might  be 
constrained  to  put  on  gold  or  costly  apparel ;  and  in  cases 
of  this  kind,"  says  he,  plain  experience  shows,  that  the 
baneful  influence  is  suspended  ;  so  that,  wherever  it  is  not 
our  choice,  but  our  cross,  it  may  consist  with  godliness, 
with  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  with  lowliness  of  heart,  with 
Christian  seriousness."  Women,  therefore,  who  were  con- 
strained by  "  self-willed,  unreasonable  husbands  or  parents," 
to  do  in  this  respect  what  otherwise  they  would  not,  were 
held  blameless,  provided  they  used  "  all  possible  means, 
arguments,  and  entreaties  to  be  excused,"  and  complied 
just  **  so  far  as  they  were  constrained,  and  no  further." 
Even  in  this  concession,  the  intolerant  spirit  of  a  reformer 
is  betrayed ;  and  no  scruple  was  made  at  introducing  dis- 
cord into  private  families,  for  the  sake  of  an  idle  fancy 
which  Wesley  had  taken  up  in  the  days  of  his  enthusiasm. 
He  maintained,  that  curling  the  hair,  and  wearing  gold, 
precious  stones,  and  costly  apparel,  were  expressly  forbid- 
den in  Scripture  ;  and  that  whoever  said  there  is  no  harm 
in  these  things,  might  as  well  say  there  is  no  harm  in  steal- 
ing or  adultery  ;  a  mode  of  reasoning,  which  would  produce 
no  effect  so  surely  as  that  of  confounding  all  notions  of  right 
and  wrong. 

In  spite,  however,  of  his  exhortations,  those  of  his  own 
people  who  could  afford  it,  the  very  people  that  sate  under 
the  pulpit,  or  by  the  side  of  it,"  were  as  fashionably  adorned 
as  others  of  their  own  rank.  "  This,"  said  Wesley,  *'  is  a 
melancholy  truth  :  I  am  ashamed  of  it ;  but  I  know  not 
how  to  help  it.  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  this 
day,  that  it  is  not  my  fault.  The  trumpet  has  not  given  an 
uncertain  sound  for  near  fifty  years  last  passed.    O  God, 


OF  METIIODl35f. 


291 


thou  knowest  I  have  borne  a  clear  and  a  faithful  testimony. 
In  print,  in  preaching,  in  meeting  the  Society,  I  have  not 
shunned  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God  :  I  am  there- 
fore clear  of  the  blood  of  those  that  will  not  hear :  it  lies 
upon  their  own  heads.  I  conjure  you  all  who  have  any  re- 
gard for  me,  show  me,  before  I  go  hence,  that  I  have  not 
labored,  even  in  this  respect,  in  vain,  for  near  half  a  century. 
Let  me  see,  before  I  die,  a  Methodist  congregation  full  as 
plain  dressed  as  a  Quaker  congregation.  Only  be  more 
consistent  with  yourselves  :  let  your  dress  be  cheap  as  well 
as  plain,  otherwise  you  do  but  trifle  with  God,  and  me,  and 
your  own  souls.  1  pray  let  there  be  no  costly  silks  among 
you,  how  grave  soever  they  may  be :  let  there  be  no  Quaker 
linen,  proverbially  so  called  for  its  exquisite  fineness  ;  no 
Brussels  lace  ;  no  elephantine  hats  or  bonnets — those  scan- 
dals of  female  modesty.  Be  all  of  a-piece,  dressed  from 
head  to  foot  as  persons  professing  godliness  ;  professing  to 
do  every  thing,  small  and  great,  with  the  single  view  of 
pleasing  God." 

Whitefield,  in  the  early  part  of  his  course,  had  fallen 
into  an  error  of  this  kind  ;  and,  for  about  a  year,  he  says, 
thought  that  "  Christianity  required  him  to  go  nasty ^  But 
Wesley  was  always  scrupulously  neat  in  his  person,  and 
enforced  upon  his  followers  the  necessity  of  personal  neat- 
ness. Toward  the  end  of  his  life,  he  publicly  declared  his 
regret  that  he  had  not  made  the  Methodists  distinguish 
themselves  by  a  peculiar  costume.  "  I  might  have  been 
as  firm,"  he  says  "  (and  I  now  see  it  would  have  been  far 
better),  as  either  the  people  called  Quakers  or  the  Mo- 
ravian Brethren :  I  might  have  said,  *  This  is  our  manner 
of  dress,  which  we  know  is  both  scriptural  and  rational. 
If  you  join  with  us,  you  are  to  dress  as  we  do;  but  you 
need  not  join  us  unless  you  please.'  But,  alas  !  the  time 
is  now  past."  Perhaps,  if  he  had  attempted  this  early  in 
his  career,  he  might  have  succeeded,  as  well  as  George 
Fox  ;  but  if,  like  George  Fox,  he  had  taken  for  his  stand- 
ard the  common  dress  of  grave  persons,  in  the  middle  rank 
of  life,  he  would  have  perpetuated  a  fashion  more  graceless 
than  that  of  Quakerism  in  its  rigor.  The  Quakers  are  not 
desirous  of  increasing  their  numbers  by  proselytes  ;  if  they 
were,  they  would  find  an  inconvenience  in  their  costume  : 
instead  of  making  the  entrance  easy  and  imperceptible,  so 
that  he  who  enters  scarcely  knows  when  he  has  passed 
the  line,  it  places  a  Rubicon  in  the  way.    It  has  the  fur- 


292 


MANNERS   A\D  EFFECTS 


tlier  inconvenience,  and  this  they  feel  and  lament,  that  the 
desire  of  getting  rid  of  so  peculiar  a  garb,  is  one  induce- 
ment for  young  members  to  withdraw  from  the  sect.  The 
latter  objection  Wesley  mijjht  have  avoided,  by  choosing 
a  habit  at  once  graceful  and  convenient :  but  the  former 
would  have  greatly  impeded  his  success ;  and  he  himself, 
who  compassed  sea  and  land  to  gain  proselytes,  would 
soon  have  been  impatient  of  such  an  impediment.  Upon 
his  wealthier  followers,  his  exhortations  upon  this  subject 
produced  little  or  no  effect ;  but,  in  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  of  which  the  great  majority  consisted,  the  women 
took  to  a  mode  of  dress  less  formal  than  that  of  the  Quak- 
ers, but  almost  as  plain,  and  by  which  they  were  easily 
distinguished,*  With  the  men  he  was  less  successful  ;  it 
was  asked,  in  the  Conference  of  1782,  if  it  were  well  for 
the  preachers  to  powder  their  hair,  and  to  wear  artificial 
curls  ?  and  the  answer  merely  said,  that  "to  abstain  from 
both  is  the  more  excellent  way."  A  direct  prohibition 
was  not  thought  advisable,  because  it  would  not  have  been 
willingly  obeyed. 

Cards,  dancing,  and  the  theaters  were,  of  course,  forbid- 
den to  his  disciples.  Not  contented  with  such  reasons  as 
are  valid  or  plausible  for  the  prohibition,  they  have  col- 
lected superstitious  anecdotes  upon  these  subjects ;  and,  in 
a  spiiit  as  presumptuous  as  it  is  uncharitable,  have  record- 
ed tales  of  sudden  death,  as  instances  of  God's  judgment 
upon  card-players  and  dancing-masters  !  Innocent  was 
a  word  which  Wesley  would  never  suffer  to  be  applied  to 
any  kind  of  pastime  ;  for  he  had  set  his  face  against  all 
diversions  of  any  kind,  and  would  not  even  allow  the 
children  at  school  to  play.    "  Those  things  we  have  false- 

*  In  one  of  his  Magazines,  Wesley  published  an  extract  from  a  tract 
called  the  Refined  Courtier ;  and  the  following  passage  was  loudly 
complained  of,  as  inconsistent  with  the  opinions  upon  this  subject 
which  he  had  repeatedly  professed :  "  Let  every  one,  when  he  ap- 
pears in  public,  be  decently  clothed,  according  to  his  age,  and  the  cus- 
tom of  the  place  where  he  lives:  he  that  does  otherviise  seems  to 
affect  singularity.  Nor  is  it  sufficient  that  our  garment  be  made  of 
good  cloth,  but  we  should  constrain  ourselves  to  follow  the  garb  where 
we  reside,  seeing  custom  is  the  law  and  standard  of  decency  in  all 
things  of  this  nature."  He  paraphrases  this  in  a  subsequent  number, 
in  order  to  vindicate  it ;  says  that  the  author  is  speaking  of  people  of 
rank ;  and,  that  he  may  get  rid  of  the  accusation  with  a  jest,  exhorts 
all  lords  of  the  bedchamber  and  maids  of  honor  to  follow  the  advice. 
"  The  whole,"  says  he,  "may  bear  a  sound  construction,  nor  does  it 
contradict  any  thing  which  I  have  said  or  written." 


OF  METHODISM. 


293 


ly  called  innocent"  says  one  of  his  correspondents,  "  are 
the  right  eye  to  be  plucked  out.  If  you  were  besieging 
strong  enemies,  and  had  no  hope  of  conquering  but  by 
starving  them,  would  it  be  innocent  now  and  then  to  throw 
them  a  little  bread  1"  Wesley  was  in  nothing  more  erro- 
neous than  in  judging  of  others  by  himself,  and  requiring 
from  them  a  constant  attention  to  spiritual  things,  and  that 
unremitting  stretch  of  the  faculties  which  to  him  was  be- 
come habitual.  If  he  never  flagged,  it  was  because  he  was 
blessed  above  all  men  with  a  continual  elasticity  of  spirits ; 
because  the  strong  motive  of  ambition  was  always  acting 
upon  him  ;  because  perpetual  change  of  place  kept  his 
mind  and  body  forever  on  the  alert ;  and  because,  where- 
ever  he  went,  his  presence  excited  a  stir  among  strangers, 
and  made  a  festival  among  his  friends.  Daily  change  of 
scene  and  of  society,  with  a  life  of  activity  and  exertion, 
kept  him  in  hilarity  as  well  as  health.  But  it  was  un- 
reasonable to  expect  that  his  followers  should  have  the 
same  happy  temperament. 

Bishop  Racket's  happy  motto  was,  "  Serve  God,  and  be 
cheerful," — "  Be  serious,"  was  one  of  Wesley's  favorite 
injunctions.  "  Be  serious ;"  it  was  said  in  the  first  Con- 
ference. "Let  your  motto  be,  'Holiness  to  the  Lord.* 
Avoid  all  lightness,  as  you  would  avoid  hell-fire  ;  and 
trifling,  as  you  would  cursing  and  swearing.  Touch  no 
woman  :  be  as  loving  as  you  will,  but  the  custom  of  the 
country  is  nothing  to  us."*  When  the  two  brothers,  John 
and  Charles,  were  in  the  first  stage  of  their  enthusiasm, 
they  used  to  spend  part  of  the  Sabbath  in  walking  in  the 
fields,  and  singing  psalms.  One  Sunday,  when  they  were 
beginning  to  set  the  stave,  a  sense  of  the  ridiculous  situ- 
ation came  upon  Charles,  and  he  burst  into  a  loud  laugh- 
ter. *' I  asked  him,"  says  John,  "if  he  was  distracted, 
and  began  to  be  very  angry,  and  presently  after  to  laugh 
as  loud  as  he.  Nor  could  we  possibly  refrain,  though  we 
were  ready  to  tear  ourselves  in  pieces,  but  were  forced  to 
go  home,  without  singing  another  line."  Hysterical  laugh- 
ter, and  that  laughter  which  is  as  contagious  as  the  act  of 
yawning,  when  the  company  are  in  tune  for  it,  Wesley 

*  This  passage  will  not  be  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  Conference. 
It  is  given  by  Mr.  Myles,  in  his  Chronological  History  of  the  Methodists 
(p.  31,  3d  edition),  as  a  minute  relative  to  practice.  This  authority  wrill 
not  be  questioned,  Mr,  Myles  being  a  traveling  preacher  himself,  and 
a  distinguished  member  of  the  Conference. 


294 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


believed  to  be  the  work  of  the  devil, — -one  of  the  many 
points  in  which  the  parallel  holds  good  between  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  Methodists  and  of  the  Papists.* 

He  advised  his  preachers  not  to  converse  with  any  per- 
son more  than  an  hour  at  a  time  ;  in  general,  to  fix  the  end 
of  every  conversation  before  they  began  ;  to  plan  it  before- 
hand ;  to  pray  before  and  after  it,  and  to  watch  and  pray 
during  the  time.t  In  the  same  spirit  of  a  monastic  legis- 
lator, also,  but  to  a  more  practicable  and  useful  end,  he 
exhorted  them  to  watch  against  what  he  called  the  lust  of 
finishing ;  to  mortify  which,  he  and  his  companions  at 
Oxford,  he  said,  frequently  broke  off  writing  in  the  middle 
of  a  sentence,  if  not  in  the  middle  of  a  word,  especially  the 
moment  they  heard  the  chapel  bell  ring4    **  If  nature,"  said 

*  There  is  a  grand  diatribe  of  St.  Pachomius  against  laughing.  The 
beatified  Jordan,  second  general  of  the  Dominicans,  treated  an  hysterical 
affection  of  this  kind  with  a  degree  of  prudence  and  practical  wisdom 
not  often  to  be  found  in  the  life  of  a  Romish  saint.  "  Ciim  idem  ma- 
gister  duceret  secum  multos  novitios,  quos  rcccperat  in  quodarn  loco,  uhi 
non  erat  convenius  ;  accidit  quod  in  quodam  hospiiio  cum  Completorium 
cum  eis  et  aliis  suis  diceret,  unus  coepit  ridere ;  et  alii  hoc  videntes 
similiter  fortitcr  inceperunt  ridere.  Quidam  autem  de  sociis  magistri 
incepit  eos  per  signa  compescere  ;  at  illi  magis  ac  magis  ridebant.  Tunc 
dimisso  Completorio,  et  dido  benedicite,  incepit  magister  dicere  illi  socio 
s^w,  Frater,  quis  fecit  vos  magistriim  novitiorum  nostrorum  ?  Quid 
perfinct  ad  vos  eos  corrigere  ?  Et  conversus  ad  novitios  dixit,  carissimi 
ridete  fortiter,  et  non  dimittatis  propter  fratrem  istum :  ego  do  vobis 
Ucentiam.  Et  vere  debetis  gaudere  et  ridere,  quia  exivistis  de  carcere 
diaboli  et  fracta  sunt  dura  vinculi  illius,  quibus  multis  annis  tenuit  vos 
ligatos.  Ridete  ergo,  carissimi,  ridete.  At  illi  in  his  verbis  consolati 
sunt  in  animo ;  et  post  ridere  dissolute  non  potuerunt.^^ — Acta  Sanc- 
torum, 13  Feb.,  p.  734. 

t  [This  rule  is  to  be  understood  of  conversations  for  religious  instruc- 
tion, as  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  as  such  needs  no  apology ;  for  it  com- 
mends itself  to  every  man's  conscience  and  understanding. — Am.  Ed."] 

t  St.  David  accustomed  his  monks  to  the  same  kind  of  alert  disci- 
pline. If  any  one  heard  the  bell  ring  while  he  was  engaged  in  writing, 
he  instantly  left  off,  though  it  might  be  in  the  middle  of  a  letter.  "  Ve- 
niente  autem  vesperd  nolcB  sonitus  audiebatur,  et  quisque  studium  suum 
deserebat,  et  ad  communitatem  veniebat.  Si  vero  in  aitribus  alicujus 
resonabat  scripta  tunc  Uteres  apice  vel  etiam  dimidid  literd  earn  incom- 
pletam  dimittcbat,  et  ad  communem  locum  conveniebat  cum  silentio."— 
Acta  Sanctorum,  March  1st,  vol.  i.,  p.  46. 

Stanihurst,  in  his  description  of  Ireland,  relates  an  instance  of  this  in 
"  an  holie  and  learned  abbot  called  Kanicus,"  who  "  was  wholly  wedded 
to  his  book  and  to  devotion ;  wherein  he  continued  so  painful  and  dili- 
gent, as  being  on  a  certain  time  penning  a  serious  matter,  and  ha\'ing 
not  fully  drawn  the  fourth  vocal,  the  abbey-bell  tinged  to  assemble  the 
convent  to  some  spiritual  exercise ;  to  which  he  so  hastened  as  he  left 
the  letter  in  semi-circle-v^dse  unfinished,  until  he  returned  back  to  hia 
book." 


OF  METHODISM. 


295 


he,  "reclaimed,  we  remembered  the  word  of  the  heathen: 
ejicienda  est  liac  mollitics  animi."  Could  his  rules  have 
been  enforced  like  those  of  his  kindred  spirits  in  the  days 
of  papal  dominion,  he  also  would  have  had  his  followers 
regular  as  clock-work,  and  as  obedient,  as  uniform,  and 
as  artificial  as  they  could  have  been  made  by  the  institu- 
tions of  the  Chinese  empire,  or  the  monastery  of  La 
Trappe.  This  was  not  possible,  because  obedience  was  a 
matter  of  choice  :  his  disciples  conformed  no  further  than 
they  thought  good  :  dismissal  was  the  only  punishment 
which  he  could  inflict,  and  it  was  always  in  their  power  to 
withdraw  from  the  Connection.  Even  his  establishment  at 
Kingswood  failed  of  the  effect  which  he  had  expected  from 
it,  though  authority  was  not  wanting  there ;  because  the 
system  was  too  rigorous  and  too  monastic  for  the  age  and 
country.  The  plan  of  making  it  a  general  school  for  the 
society  was  relinquished  ;  but  it  was  continued  for  the  sons 
of  the  preachers,  and  became  one  of  those  objects  for  which 
the  Conference  l  egularly  provided  at  their  annual  meeting. 
In  the  year  1766  he  delivered  over  the  management  of  it  to 
stewards  on  whom  he  could  depend :  '*  So  I  have  cast," 
said  he,  "  a  heavy  load  off  my  shoulders ;  blessed  be  God 
for  able  and  faithful  men  who  will  do  his  work  without  any 
temporal  reward."  The  superintendence  he  still  retained; 
and  it  was  a  frequent  cause  of  vexation  to  him.  Maids, 
masters,  and  boys,  were  refractory;  sometime  the  one, 
sometimes  the  other,  sometimes  altogether;  so  that  he  talk- 
ed of  letting  the  burden  drop.  On  one  occasion,  he  says, 
"  Having  told  my  whole  mind  to  the  masters  and  servants, 
I  spoke  to  the  children  in  a  far  stronger  manner  than  ever 
I  did  before.  I  will  kill  or  cure.  I  will  have  one  or  the 
other — a  Christian  school,  or  none  at  all."  But  the  neces- 
sity of  such  an  asylum  induced  him  to  persevere  in  it ;  and 
it  was  evidently,  with  all  the  gross  errors  of  its  plan,  and 
all  the  trouble  and  chagrin  which  it  occasioned,  a  favorite 
institution  with  the  founder.  "  Trevecca,"  said  he,  **  is 
much  more  to  Lady  Huntingdon  than  Kingswood  is  to  me. 
I  mixes  with  every  thing.  It  is  my  college,  my  masters, 
my  students.  I  do  not  speak  so  of  this  school.  It  is  not 
mine,  but  the  Lord's."  Looking  upon  himself,  however,  as 
the  vicegerent,  the  complacency  with  which  he  regarded 
the  design  made  amends  to  him  for  the  frequent  disappoint- 
ment of  his  hopes.  "  Every  man  of  sense,"  he  said,  "who 
read  the  rules,  might  conclude  that  a  school  so  conducted 


296 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


by  men  of  piety  and  understanding  would  exceed  any  other 
school  or  academy  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland."  And  his 
amazing  credulity,  whenever  a  work  of  grace  was  announced 
among  the  boys,  was  proof  against  repeated  experience,  as 
well  as  common  sense.  The  boys  were  taken  to  see  a 
corpse  one  day,  and,  while  the  impression  was  fresh  upon 
them,  they  were  lectured  upon  the  occasion,  and  made  to 
join  in  a  hymn  upon  death.  Some  of  them  being  very 
much  affected,  they  were  told  that  those  who  were  resolv- 
ed to  serve  God  might  go  and  pray  together  ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, fifteen  of  them  went,  and,  in  Wesley's  language, 
"  continued  wrestling  with  God,  with  strong  cries  and 
tears,"  till  their  bedtime.  Wesley  happened  to  be  upon 
the  spot.  The  excitement  was  kept  up  day  after  day,  by 
what  he  calls  "  strong  exhortations,"  and  many  gave  in 
their  names  to  him,  being  resolved,  they  said,  to  serve  God. 
It  was  a  wonder  that  the  boys  were  not  driven  mad  by  the 
conduct  of  their  instructors.  These  insane  persons  urged 
them  never  to  rest  till  they  had  obtained  a  clear  sense  of 
the  pardoning  love  of  God.  This  advice  they  gave  them 
severally,  as  well  as  collectively ;  and  some  of  the  poor 
children  actually  agreed  that  they  would  not  sleep  till  God 
revealed  himself  to  them,  and  they  had  found  peace  !  The 
scene  which  ensued  was  worthy  of  Bedlam,  and  might  fair- 
ly have  entitled  the  promoters  to  a  place  there.  One  of 
the  masters,  finding  that  they  had  risen  from  bed,  and  were 
hard  at  prayer,  some  half-dressed,  and  some  almost  naked, 
went  and  prayed  and  sung  with  them,  and  then  ordered 
them  to  bed.  It  was  impossible  that  they  could  sleep  in 
such  a  state  of  delirium  :  they  rose  again,  and  went  to  the 
same  work ;  and  being  again  ordered  to  bed,  again  stole 
out,  one  after  another,  till,  when  it  was  near  midnight,  they 
were  all  at  prayer  again.  The  maids  caught  the  madness, 
and  were  upon  their  knees  with  the  children.  This  con- 
tinued all  night ;  and  maids  and  boys  went  on  raving  and 
praying  through  the  next  day,  till,  one  after  another,  they 
every  one  fancied,  at  last,  that  they  felt  their  justification  ! 
*'  In  the  evening  all  the  maids,  and  many  of  the  boys,  not 
having  been  used  to  so  long  and  violent  speaking  (for  this 
had  lasted  from  Tuesday  till  Saturday!),  were  worn  out  as 
to  bodily  strength,  and  so  hoarse  that  they  were  scarce  able 
to  speak."  But  it  was  added  that  they  were  "  strong  in 
the  Spirit,  full  of  love,  and  of  joy  and  peace  in  believing." 
Most  of  thera  were  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper  the  next 


OF  METHODISM. 


297 


day,  for  the  first  time :  and  Wesley  inserted  the  whole 
monstrous  account,  with  all  its  details,  in  his  Journal ;  and, 
in  a  letter  written  at  the  time,  affirms  that  God  had  sent  a 
shower  of  grace  upon  the  children  !  "  Thirteen,"  he  says, 
"  found  peace  with  God,  and  four  or  five  of  them  were 
some  of  the  smallest  there,  not  above  seven  or  eight  years 
old !"  Twelve  months  afterward  there  is  this  notable  en- 
try in  his  Journal : — "  I  spent  an  hour  among  our  children 
at  Kingswood.  It  is  strange  !  How  long  shall  we  be  con- 
strained to  weave  Penelope's  web  1  "What  is  become  of 
the  wonderful  work  of  grace  which  God  wrought  in  them 
last  September  1  It  is  gone  !  It  is  lost  !  It  is  vanished 
away  !  There  is  scarce  any  trace  of  it  remaining  ! — Then 
we  must  begin  again  ;  and,  in  due  time,  we  shall  reap,  if 
we  faint  not."  On  this  subject  he  was  incapable  of  deriv- 
ing instruction  from  experience. 

Neither  did  Wesley  ever  discover  the  extreme  danger 
of  exciting  an  inflammatory  state  of  devotional  feeling. 
His  system,  on  the  contrary,  enjoined  a  perpetual  course 
of  stimulants,  and,  lest  the  watch-nights  and  the  love-feasts, 
with  the  ordinary  means  of  class-meetings  and  band-meet- 
ings, should  be  insufficient,  he  borrowed  from  the  Puritans 
one  of  the  most  perilous  practices  that  ever  was  devised 
by  enthusiasm  ;  the  entering  into  a  covenant,  in  which  the 
devotee  promises  and  vows  to  the  *'  most  dreadful  God," 
(beginning  the  address  with  that  dreadful  appellation  !)  to 
become  his  covenant  servant ;  and,  giving  up  himself,  body 
and  soul,  to  his  service,  to  observe  all  his  laws,  and  obey 
him  before  all  others,  "  and  this  to  the  death  !"  Mr.  Wes- 
ley may,  perhaps,  have  been  prejudiced  in  favor  of  this 
practice,  because  he  found  it  recommended  by  the  non- 
conformist Richard  Allein,  whose  works  had  been  pub- 
lished by  his  maternal  grandfather,  Dr.  Annesley ;  so  that 
he  had  probably  been  taught  to  respect  the  author  in  his 
youth.  In  the  year  1755,  he  first  recommended  this  cov- 
enant ;  and,  after  explaining  the  subject  to  his  London 
congregation  during  several  successive  days,  he  assembled 
as  many  as  were  willing  to  enter  into  the  engagement,  at 
the  French  church  in  Spitalfields,  and  read  to  them  the 
tremendous  formula,  to  which  eighteen  hundred  persons 
signified  their  assent  by  standing  up.  "  Such  a  night,"  he 
says,  "  I  scarce  ever  saw  before  :  surely  the  fruit  of  it  shall 
remain  forever  !"  From  that  time  it  has  been  the  practice 
among  the  Methodists  to  renevy^  the  covenant  annually, 

N* 


298 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


generally  on  the  first  night  of  the  new  year,  or  of  the  Sun- 
day following.  They  are  exhorted  to  make  it  not  only  in 
heart,  but  in  word ;  not  only  in  word,  but  in  writing  ;  and 
to  spread  the  writing  with  all  possible  reverence  before  the 
Lord,  as  if  they  would  present  it  to  him  as  their  act  and 
deed,  and  then  to  set  their  hands  to  it.  It  is  said,  that 
some  persons,  from  a  fanatical  and  frightful  notion  of 
making  the  covenant  perfect  on  their  part,  have  signed  it 
with  their  own  blood  !* 

A  practice  like  this,  highly  reprehensible  as  it  would 
always  be,  might  be  comparatively  harmless,  if  absolution 
were  a  part  of  the  methodistic  economy,  as  well  as  con- 
fession ;t  and  if  the  distinction  between  venial  and  deadly 
sins  were  admitted,  or  if  things,  innocent  in  themselves, 
were  not  considered  sinful  in  their  morality.  The  rules 
of  a  monastic  order,  however  austere,  are  observed  in  the 
convent,  because  there  exists  an  authority  which  can  com- 
pel the  observance,  and  punish  any  disobedience ;  more- 
over, all  opportunities  of  infraction  or  of  temptation  are, 
as  much  as  possible,  precluded  there,  and  the  discij)line  is 
regularly  and  constantly  enforced.  But  they  who  take  the 
methodistic  covenant,  have  no  keeper  except  their  own 
conscience  ;  that,  too,  in  a  state  of  diseased  irritability, 
often  unable  to  prevent  them  from  lapsing  into  offenses, 
but  sure  to  exaggerate  the  most  trifling  fault,  and  to 
avenge  even  imaginary  guilt  with  real  anguish.  The 
struggle  which  such  an  engagement  is  but  too  likely  to 
produce,  may  well  be  imagined;  nor  can  its  consequences 
be  doubtful  :  some  would  have  strength  of  nerves  enough 
to  succeed  in  stifling  their  conscience,  or,  at  least,  in  keep- 

*  I  shall  only  refer,  for  a  justification  of  the  principle  of  this  solemn 
act,  to  the  communion  service  of  the  Church,  where,  every  time  the 
sacred  ordinance  is  administered,  the  same  act  is  perfoiTned ;  "  and 
here  we  offer  and  present  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  ourselves,  our  souls,  and 
bodies,  to  be  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  lively  sacrifice  unto  thee."  &c. 
We  do  this  in  a  more  extended  form  of  solemn  dedication  once  a  year, 
and  that  is  all  the  difference.  As  to  signing  this  covenant,  this  is  not 
our  practice  ;  and  for  signing  it  with  blood,  as  stated  by  Southey,  it 
may  have  been  done  by  some  individual  enthusiast,  though  I  never 
heard  of  an  instance,  and  do  not  believe  it ;  but  the  remark  is  just  as 
liberal  as  if  I  should  declare  the  race  of  poets — lake,  mountain,  ocean, 
and  city,  to  be  notorious  horse-stealers,  because  one,  instead  of  content- 
ing himself  wiUi  the  Pegasus  of  his  fraternity,  is  reported  to  have  rid- 
den away  with  his  neighbor's  roadster,  and  to  have  suffered  public; 
execution. — Rev,  R,  Wat  soy. 

t  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXXI.— ^ttj.  Ed.] 


OF  METHODISM. 


299 


ing  it  down ;  and  they  would  throw  off  all  religion  as 
burdensome,  because  they  had  taken  upon  themselves  a 
yoke  too  heavy  to  be  borne  :  others  would  lose  their 
senses. 

Methodism  has  sometimes  been  the  cure  of  madness, 
and  has  frequently  changed  the  type  of  the  disease,  and 
mitigated  its  evils.  Sometimes  it  has  obtained  credit  by 
curing  the  malady  which  it  caused ;  but  its  remedial 
powers  are  not  always  able  to  restore  the  patient,  and 
overstrained  feelings  have  ended  in  confirmed  insanity 
or  in  death.  When  Wesley  instructed  his  preachers  that 
they  should  throw  men  into  strong  terror  and  fear,  and 
Strive  to  make  them  inconsolable,  he  did  not  consider  that 
all  constitutions  were  not  strong  enough  to  stand  this  moral 
salivation.  The  language  of  his  own  sermons  was  some- 
times well  calculated  to  produce  this  effect.  "  Mine  and 
your  desert,"  said  he  to  his  hearers,  *'  is  hell  :*  and  it  is 

*  For  desert  I  should  have  said  tendency ;  or  rather,  I  should  have 
suppressed  the  whole  period,  as  deeming  that  whatever  of  truth  it  con- 
tains migVxt  be  more  profitalaly  taught  in  a  dilferent  form.  But  with 
regard  to  the  fourteen  lines  that  follow,  to  the  word  "  pit,"  I  dissent 
from  my  honored  friend  so  widely,  that  I  profess  myself  unable  to  con- 
ceive how  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  can  be  brought  home  to,  or  laid  hold 
of,  by  a  sinner,  without  something  more  than  a  vague  x  y  z — without 
some  realizing  apprehension  of  that  from  which  we  are  to  be  rescued. 
This  seems  indispensable  to  the  intelligibiUty  of  Christianity.  Without 
it,  the  Gospel  is  the  fragment  of  a  sentence.  God  in  Christ,  by  the 
effect  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Co-eternal  Word,  has  provided  salvation 
from  {hiatus  in  the  MS.)  The  lake,  the  brimstone,  &c.,  are  in- 
deed much  to  be  regretted  ;  because  they  counteract  the  very  object  in 
view,  that  of  drawing  the  soul  inward  in  its  own  state  and  essence.  And 
still  more  objectionable  are  the  questions  that  follow,  all  tending  to  de- 
ceive the  mind  into  that  most  pernicious  notion  of  the  evil  to  come 
being  a  something  arbitrarily  superinduced  on  the  soul ;  inflicted  by  a 
power  from  without,  who  needed  only  have  remained  passive,  and  the 
soul  would  have  ailed  nothing.  This  is  the  quenching  error,  that  strikes 
the  whole  body  of  religion  with  the  shaking  palsy  of  superstition,  or  the 
lethargy  of  false  assurance.  But  this  was  the  defect  of  Wesley's  intel- 
lect. He  could  discover  and  denounce  the  poison  in  the  stem,  but  not 
recognize  it  in  its  taproot.  Who  more  vehement  than  he  in  opposing 
Antinomian  frenzies  ?  But  yet  the  ground  and  conditio  sine  qua 
non'^  of  Antinomianism,  viz.,  the  conception  of  the  soul  as  a  mere  pass- 
ive subject-matter,  on  which  wo  and  weal,  good  and  evil,  were  im- 
pressed by  a  hand  and  a  choice  from  without,  this  all  Wesley's  figures 
of  rhetoric  encourage.  And  the  only  effective  antidote  to  this  sad 
delusion  I  believe  to  be  afforded  by  an  insight  into  the  true  action  and 
direction  of  the  redeeming  power  ;  and  that  its  immediate  object  is  the 
nature,  the  generic  life,  and  not  the  individual  will,  or  eifiL :  on  this 
too,  indeed,  but  yet  mediately  and  morally,  Christ  being  from  the  be- 


300 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


mere  mercy,  free,  undeserved  mercy,  that  we  are  not  now 
in  unquenchable  fire." — "  The  natural  man,"  said  he,  "  lies 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Having  no  inlets 
for  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  things,  all  the  avenues  of 
his  soul  being  shut  up,  he  is  in  gross,  stupid  ignorance  of 
whatever  he  is  most  concerned  to  know.  He  sees  not  that 
he  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  pit;  therefore  he  fears  it  not : 
he  has  not  understanding  enough  to  fear.  He  satisfies 
himself  by  saying,  God  is  merciful  :  confounding  and 
swallowing  up  at  once,  in  that  unwieldy  idea  of  mercy, 
all  his  holiness  and  essential  hatred  of  sin — all  his  justice, 
wisdom,  and  truth.  God  touches  him,  and  now  first  he 
discovers  his  real  state.  Horrid  light  breaks  in  upon  his 
soul — such  light  as  may  be  conceived  to  gleam  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  from  the  lowest  deep,  from  a  lake  of  fire 
burning  with  brimstone."  The  effect  of  such  sulphurous 
language  may  be  easily  conceived,  especially  when  it  was 
enforced  by  his  manner  of  addressing  himself  personally 
to  every  individual  who  chose  to  apply  it  to  himself :  *'  Art 
thou  thoroughly  convinced  that  thou  deservest  everlasting 
damnation  ]  Would  God  do  thee  any  wrong  if  he  com- 
manded the  earth  to  open  and  swallow  thee  up  X — if  thou 
wert  now  to  go  down  into  the  pit — into  the  fire  that  never 
shall  be  quenched  1" 

ginning  the  Light,  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 
Here,  and  here  only,  is  the  narrow  isthmus  between  superstition  on  one 
Bide,  and  enthusiasm,  or  sensational  idolatry,  on  the  other.  It  grieves 
me  more  than  a  worldling  would  believe,  if  I  expressed  the  degree, 
that  the  incautiou  in  not  distinguishing,  in  the  quotations  from  Wesley, 
the  precise  points  which  Southey  meant  to  condemn,  and  thus  separating 
the  error,  in  kind  or  degree,  from  what  Southey  would  himself  admit 
as  important  truths,  prevents  me  from  urging  the  perusal  and  purchase 
of  these  volumes  as  universally  and  promiscuously  as  I  would  fain  do. 
Where  it  is  a  safe  work,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it  among 
the  most  instructive  and  interesting  ones  in  our  language.  I  am  well — 
alas !  for  my  own  peace  of  mind,  only  too  well — acquainted  with  the 
difficulties  that  weigh  on  the  negative  of  salvation — on  the  lot  of  those 
who  are  not  Christians  in  the  New  Testament  determination  of  a 
Christian.  But  yet  I  must  ask  Southey,  whether  the  Scriptures  would 
lead  him  to  suppose,  that  the  state  of  the  many  who  have  just  steered 
clear  of  the  law  of  the  land,  and  maintained  a  decent  character,  is  the 
state  to  which  eternal  life  and  an  ascent  into  glory  are  promised?  I 
could  not  in  my  own  person  utter  the  passage  in  pp.  363,  364  ;  but 
neither  dare  I  uphold  the  contrary  declarations  of  Drs.  Mant  and 
D'Oyley. 

N.B,  I  speak  exclusively  of  pp.  363,  364 ;  what  follows  in  p.  364,  I 
give  up  to  Southey's  just  reprehension,  as  so  much  presumptuous 
logic,  iivtv  ?.6yov. — S.  T.  C. 


OF  METHODISM. 


301 


The  manner  in  which  he  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of 
the  new  birth,  was  especially  dangerous  :  without  this  ho 
affirmed  that  there  could  be  no  salvation.  "  To  say  that 
ye  can  not  be  born  again,"  said  he,  "  that  there  is  no  new 
birth  but  in  baptism,  is  to  seal  you  all  under  damnation — 
to  consign  you  to  hell,  without  help,  without  hope.  Thou- 
sands do  really  believe  that  they  have  found  a  broad  way 
which  leadeth  not  to  destruction.  *  What  danger  (say  they) 
can  a  woman  be  in,  that  is  so  harmless  and  so  virtuous  ? 
What  fear  is  there  that  so  honest  a  man,  one  of  so  strict 
morality^  should  miss  of  heaven  ]  Especially  if,  over  and 
above  all  this,  they  constantly  attend  on  the  Church  and 
sacrament.'  One  of  these  will  ask  with  all  assurance, 
'  What !  shall  I  not  do  as  well  as  my  neighbors  V  Yes ; 
as  well  as  your  unholy  neighbors ;  as  well  as  your  neigh- 
bors that  die  in  their  sins  ;  for  you  will  all  drop  into  the 
pit  together,  into  the  nethermost  hell.  You  will  all  lie  to- 
gether in  the  lake  of  fire,  *  the  lake  of  fire  burning  with 
brimstone.'  Then  at  length  you  will  see  (but  God  grant 
you  may  see  it  before !)  the  necessity  of  holiness  in  order 
to  glory,  and,  consequently,  of  the  new  birth ;  since  none 
can  be  holy,  except  he  be  born  again."  And  he  inveighed 
bitterly  against  all  who  preached  any  doctrine  short  of  this. 
"  Where  lies  the  uncharitableness,"  he  asked,  "  on  my 
side,  or  on  yours  %  I  say  he  may  be  bom  again,  and  so 
become  an  heir  of  salvation :  you  say  he  can  not  be  bom 
again ;  and,  if  so,  he  must  inevitably  perish  :  so  you  utterly 
block  up  his  way  to  salvation,  and  send  him  to  hell,  out  of 
mere  charity." — "  They  who  do  not  teach  men  to  walk  in  the 
narrow  way, — who  encourage  the  easy,  careless,  harmless, 
useless  creature,  the  man  who  suffers  no  reproach  for  right- 
eousness* sake,  to  imagine  he  is  in  the  way  to  heaven  j 
these  are  false  prophets  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word ; 
these  are  traitors  both  to  God  and  man  ;  these  are  no  other 
than  the  first-bom  of  Satan,  and  the  eldest  sons  of  Apollyon 
the  destroyer.  These  are  above  the  rank  of  ordinary  cut- 
throats, for  they  murder  the  souls  of  men.  They  are  con- 
tinually peopling  the  realms  of  night ;  and,  whenever  they 
follow  the  poor  souls  whom  they  have  destroyed,  hell  shall 
be  moved  from  beneath  to  meet  them  at  their  coming."* 

*  ["  Even  the  passage  Mr.  Southey  has  quoted,  refutes  his  represent- 
ation. It  is  a  plain,  unrhetorical  annunciation  of  the  doctrines  of  Scrip-' 
ture  on  the  point  before  him,  which  mi^ht  be  paralleled  with  a  thou- 
sand pasgages,  from  the  most  eminent  divines  of  every  church.   It  is 


302 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


The  effect  of  these  violent  discourses  was  aided  by  the 
injudicious  language  concerning  good  works,  into  which 
Wesley  was  soraetiraes  hurried,  in  opposition  even  to  his 
own  calmer  judgment  upon  that  contested  point.  "  If  you 
had  done  no  harm  to  any  man,"  said  he,  "  if  you  had  ab- 
stained from  all  willful  sin,  if  you  had  done  all  the  good  you 
possibly  could  to  all  men,  and  constantly  attended  all  the 
ordinances  of  God,  all  this  will  not  keep  you  from  hell,  ex- 
cept you  be  born  again."  And  he  attempted  to  prove,  by 
a  syllogism,  that  no  works  done  before  justification  are 
good,  because  they  are  not  done  as  God  hath  willed  and 
commanded  them  to  be  done.  "  Wherewithal,"  said  he, 
"  shall  a  sinful  man  atone  for  any  the  least  of  his  sins  ]  With 
his  own  works  ?  Were  they  ever  so  many  or  holy,  they 
are  not  his  own,  but  God's.  But  indeed  they  are  all  un- 
holy and  sinful  themselves  ;  so  that  every  one  of  them  needs 
a  fresh  atonement." — "  If  thou  couldst  do  all  things  well ; 
if  from  this  very  hour  till  death  thou  couldst  perform  per- 
fect, uninterrupted  obedience,  even  this  would  not  atone 
for  what  is  past.  Yea,  the  present  and  the  future  obedi- 
ence of  all  the  men  upon  earth,  and  all  the  angels  in  heav- 
en, would  never  make  satisfaction  to  the  justice  of  God  for 
one  single  sin."  Wesley  has  censured  the  error  of  repos- 
ing in  what  he  calls  the  unwieldy  idea  of  God's  mercy.  Is 
such  an  idea  of  his  justice  more  tenable?  If  such  notions 
were  well  founded,  wherein  would  the  value  of  a  good 
conscience  consist  1 — or  why  should  we  have  been  taught 
and  commanded,  when  we  pray,  to  say, — "  Forgive  us 
our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against 
us." 

These  were  not  Wesley's  deliberate  opinions.    He  held 

earnest,  and  faithful,  and  pointed,  as  became  a  man  who  believed  the 
truths  he  taught,  and  was,  doubtless,  ^  purposely^  intended,  in  the  best 
sense,  to  alarm  and  stir  up  the  careless  and  self-righteous ;  and,  in  the 
same  innocent  sense,  every  minister  worthy  of  the  name,  'purposely' 
endeavors  to  produce  effect  upon  his  hearers.  Mr.  Southey's  insinua- 
tions, however,  lie  with  little  weight  against  Mr.  Wesley.  Nothing 
could  surpass  the  simplicity  of  his  preaching ;  nothing  was  more  dis- 
tant from  his  manner  than  the  arts  of  the  declaimer. 

"  It  is  to  be  feared  that  Mr.  Southey,  in  reality,  takes  exceptions  to 
the  doctrine  taught  by  Mr.  Wesley,  the  real  liability  of  unconverted 
men  to  future  punishment,  and  that  he  would  have  much  preferred  the 
ministry  of  those,  who 

Never  mention  hell  to  ears  polite.' " 

Rev.  R,  Watsom.] 


OP  METHODISM. 


303 


a  saner  doctrine,*  and  the  avowal  of  that  doctrine  was 
what  drew  upon  him  such  loads  of  slanderous  abuse  from 
the  Ultra-Calvinists.  Yet  he  was  led  to  these  inconsist- 
encies by  the  course  of  his  preaching,  and  the  desire  of 
emptying  men  of  their  righteousness,  as  he  called  it.  And 
if  he  were  thus  indiscreet,  what  was  to  be  expected  from 
his  lay  preachers,  especially  from  those  who  were  at  the 
same  time  in  the  heat  of  their  enthusiasm,  and  the  pleni- 
tude of  their  ignorance  1  The  overstrained  feelings  which 
were  thus  excited,  and  the  rigid  doctrine  which  was  preach- 
ed, tended  to  produce  two  opposite  extremes  of  evil.  Many 
would  become  what,  in  puritanical  language,  is  called  back- 
sliders, and  still  more  would  settle  into  all  the  hypocritical 
formalities  of  puritanism.  *'  Despise  not  a  profession  of 
holiness,"  says  Osborn,  "  because  it  may  be  true  ;  but  have 
a  care  how  you  trust  it,  for  fear  it  should  be  false  !" 

The  tendency  to  produce  mock  humility  and  spiritual 
pride  is  one  of  the  evil  effects  of  Methodism.  It  is  charge- 
able also  with  leading  to  bigotry,  illiberal  manners,  con- 
fined knowledge,  and  uncharitable  superstition.  In  its  in- 
solent language,  all  unawakened  persons,  that  is  to  say,  all 
except  themselves,  or  such  graduated  professors  in  other 
evangelical  sects  as  they  are  pleased  to  admit  ad  eundem, 
are  contemptuously  styled  unbelievers.  Wesley  could  not 
communicate  to  his  followers  his  own  catholic  charity ;  in- 
deed, the  doctrine  which  he  held  forth  was  not  always  con- 

*  It  was  asked  in  the  second  Conference — Q.  9.  "  How  can  we 
maintain,  that  all  works  done  before  we  have  a  sense  of  the  pardoning 
love  of  God,  are  sin;  and  as  such,  an  abomination  to  him?  A.  The 
works  of  him  who  has  heard  the  Gospel,  and  does  not  believe,  are  not 
done  as  God  hath  wiUed  and  commanded  them  to  be  done.  And  yet 
we  know  not  how  to  say,  that  they  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord,  in 
him  who  feareth  God,  and  from  that  principle  does  the  best  he  can. 
Q.  10.  Seeing  there  is  so  much  difficulty  in  this  subject,  can  we  deal 
too  tenderly  with  them  that  oppose  us?    A.  We  can  not." 

Dr.  Hales,  rector  of  Killasandra,  in  Ireland,  happened  to  tell  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  when  Bishop  Chevenix  (of  Waterford),  in  his  old  age, 
was  congratulated  on  recovering  from  a  fever,  the  bishop  replied,  "  I 
believe  I  am  not  long  for  this  world.  I  have  lost  all  relish  for  what 
formerly  gave  me  pleasure ;  even  my  books  no  longer  entertain  me. 
There  is  nothing  sticks  by  me  but  the  recollection  oi:  what  little  good 
I  may  have  done."  One  of  Mr.  Wesley's  preachers,  who  was  present, 
exclaimed  at  this,  "  Oh  the  vain  man,  boasting  of  his  good  works !" 
Dr.  Hales  vindicated  the  good  old  bishop,  and  Mr.  Wesley  silenced  the 
preacher  by  saying,  "Yes,  Dr.  Hales  is  right:  there  is  indeed  great 
comfort  in  the  calm  remembrance  of  a  life  well  spent." — [See  Appen- 
dix, Note  XXXII.— ^r».  JSi.] 


304 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


sistent  with  his  own  better  feelings.  Still  less  was  he  able 
to  impart  that  winning  deportment,  which  arose,  in  him, 
from  the  benignity  of  his  disposition,  and  which  no  Jesuit 
ever  possessed  in  so  consummate  a  degree  by  art,  as  he  by 
nature.  The  circle  to  which  he  would  have  confined  their 
reading  was  narrow  enough  :  his  own  works,  and  his  own 
series  of  abridgments,  would  have  constituted  the  main 
part  of  a  Methodist's  library.  But  in  this  respect  the  zeal 
of  the  pupils  exceeded  that  of  the  master;  and  Wesley 
actually  gave  offense  by  printing  Prior's  Henry  and  Emma, 
in  his  Magazine.*  So  many  remonstrances  were  made  to 
him  upon  this  occasion,  that  he  found  it  necessary,  in  a  sub- 
sequent number,  to  vindicate  himself,  by  urging  that  there 
was  nothing  in  the  poem  contrary  to  religion,  nothing  which 
could  offend  the  chastest  ear  ;  that  many  truly  religious 
men  and  women  had  read  it,  and  profited  thereby ;  that  it 
was  one  of  the  finest  poems  in  the  language,  both  for  ex- 
pression and  sentiment ;  and  that  whoever  could  read  it 
without  tears  must  have  a  stupid,  unfeeling  heart.  How- 
ever, he  concluded,  "I  do  not  know  that  any  thing  of 
the  same  kind  will  appear  in  any  of  the  following  Maga- 
zines." 

In  proportion  as  Methodism  obtained  ground  among  the 
educated  classes,  its  direct  effects  were  evil.  It  narrowed 
their  views  and  feelings ;  burdened  them  with  forms ;  re- 
stricted them  from  recreations  which  keep  the  mind  in 
health  ;  discouraged,  if  it  did  not  absolutely  prohibit,  ac- 
complishments that  give  a  grace  to  life ;  separated  them 
from  general  society ;  substituted  a  sectarian  in  the  place 
of  a  catholic  spirit ;  and,  by  alienating  them  from  the 
national  Church,  weakened  the  strongest  cement  of  social 
order,  and  loosened  the  ties  whereby  men  are  bound  to 
their  native  land.  It  carried  disunion  and  discord  into 
private  life,  breaking  up  families  and  friendships.  The 
sooner  you  weaned  your  affections  from  those  who,  not 
being  awakened,  were  of  course  in  the  way  to  perdition — • 
the  sooner  the  sheep  withdrew  from  the  goats,  the  better. 
Upon  this  head  the  monks  have  not  been  more  remorseless 

*  ["  The  objection  was  not  to  the  reading  of  this,  nor  any  other  of 
Prior's  poems,  nor  of  elegant  and  imaginative  poetry  in  general,  but  to  its 
insertion  in  a  periodical  work  professedly  religious  ;  and  I  suppose  that 
no  conductor  of  a  religious  magazine  of  the  present  day  would  think  a 
similar  poem  sufficiently  accordant  with  its  plan,  to  warrant  its  inser- 
tion, whatever  poetic  excellence  it  might  Doast." — Rev.  R.  Watson.] 


OP  METHODISM. 


305 


than  the  Methodists.*  Wesley  has  said,  in  one  of  his  ser- 
mons, that,  how  frequently  parents  should  converse  with 
their  children  when  tliey  are  grown  up,  is  to  be  determined 
by  Christian  prudence.  "  This  also,"  says  he,  **  will  de- 
termine how  long  it  is  expedient  for  children,  if  it  be  at 
their  own  choice,  to  remain  with  their  parents.  In  gen- 
eral, if  they  do  not  fear  God,  you  should  leave  them  as 
soon  as  is  convenient.  But,  wherever  you  are,  take  care 
(if  it  be  in  your  power)  that  they  do  not  want  the  necessa- 
ries or  conveniences  of  life.  As  for  all  other  relations, 
even  brothers  or  sisters,  if  they  are  of  the  world,  you  are 
under  no  obligation  to  be  intimate  with  them  :  you  may  be 
civil  and  friendly  at  a  distance."  What  infinite  domestic 
unhappiness  must  this  abominable  spirit  have  occasioned. t 

*  What  an  old  writer  says  of  the  Independents  in  the  time  of  the 
Commonwealth  is  perfectly  applicable  to  this  worst  part  of  Methodism. 
"  They  take  all  other  Christians  to  be  heathens.  These  are  those  great 
pretenders  to  the  Spirit,  into  whose  party  does  the  vilest  person  living 
no  sooner  adscribe  himself  but  he  is  ipso  facto  dubbed  a  saint,  hallowed 
and  dear  to  God.  These  are  the  confidents  who  can  design  the  minute, 
the  place,  and  the  means  of  their  conversion :  a  schism  full  of  spiritual 
disdain,  incharity,  and  high  imposture,  if  any  such  there  be  on  earth." 
— A  Character  of  England.    Scott's  Somers's  Tracts,  vol.  vii.,  p.  180. 

t  ["In  proportion  as  Methodism  obtained  ground  among  the  educa- 
ted classes,  its  direct  effects  were  evil."  Where  is  the  proof?  "It 
narrowed  their  views  and  feelings;"  in  what  way  is  not  stated,  and  no 
answer  can  therefore  be  ^iven.  "  It  burdened  them  with  forms." 
This  is  also  mere  assumption;  for  the  religious  forms  of  Methodism 
were  never  very  numerous,  certainly  not  more  so  than  those  of  the 
Church.  "  It  restricted  them  from  recreations  which  keep  the  mind  in 
health."  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  what  recreations  are  here  meant 
which  Mr.  S.  thinks  so  necessary  to  mental  health.  Perhaps  the  thea- 
ter, perhaps  the  excitement  of  gambling.  If  so,  Methodism  certainly 
prohibited  them  to  its  followei's;  but  it  was  not  peculiar  in  this.  The 
most  serious  members  of  other  bodies  think  with  us,  that  they  are  fatal, 
and  not  conducive  to  the  mind's  health.  But  it  did  not  prohibit  cheer- 
ful converse,  polite  literature,  and  the  pleasures  of  taste.  "  It  discour- 
aged, if  it  did  not  absolutely  prohibit,  accomplishments  that  give  a  grace 
to  life."  Here,  too,  is  a  want  of  explicitness.  If  Mr.  Southey  means 
the  cultivation  of  amenity  and  courtesy  of  manners,  general  literature, 
the  fine  arts,  music,  and  similar  accomplishments,  he  was  never  more 
mistaken ;  if  he  means  dancing,  as  I  suspect,  he  is  right,  and  I  do  not 
think  we  need  an  apology.  "  It  separated  them  from  general  society." 
True,  from  the  intimacies  of  indiscriminate  society ;  but  with  general 
society  they  have  ever  mixed  when  any  purpose  of  public  usefulness 
was  to  be  attained.  This  charge  results  from  Mr.  Southey's  defective 
views  of  real  religion.  There  is,  in  our  Lord's  words,  "a  world;'* 
persons  whose  habits,  if  not  immoral,  are  wholly  earthly  and  trifling ; 
and  from  an  intimacy  with  that  "  world,'*  every  true  Christian,  by  what- 
ever name  he  is  known,  is  called  to  separate  himself,  except  when  he 
mixes  with  it  to  enlighten  its  errors,  and  correct  its  morala,    "  It  sub» 


306 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


Mr.  Wesley's  notions  concerning  education  must  also 
have  done  great  evil.  No  man  was  ever  more  thoroughly- 
ignorant  of  the  nature  of  children.  "  Break  their  wills 
betimes,"  he  says :  "  begin  this  work  before  they  can  run 

stituted  a  sectarian  in  the  place  of  a  catholic  spirit."  This  is  also  a 
charge  without  foundation.  It  is  granted,  that  through  the  infirmity 
of  human  nature,  all  religious  bodies,  the  Church  of  England  not  ex- 
cepted, are  prone  to  a  sectarian  spirit.  But  if  Mr.  Southey  means, 
that  the  Methodists  have  been  disposed  by  their  system  to  undervalue 
the  wise  and  good  of  other  communities,  there  is  nothing  in  his  book 
which  we  shall  so  promptly  and  emphatically  deny.  We  have  not  at 
least  discovered  this  disposition  as  to  pious  and  eminent  members  and 
ministers  of  the  Church  of  England.  "  It  alienated  them  from  the 
national  church."  This  has  been  abundantly  replied  to  in  the  prece- 
ding pages.  "  It  weakened  the  strongest  cement  of  social  order."  If 
by  this  cement  Mr.  Southey  means  honesty,  industry,  loyalty  to  the 
sovereign,  and  obedience  to  the  laws,  the  insinuation  is  false,  and  he 
knows  it.  His  own  book  bears  testimony  to  the  contrary.  If  he  mean 
any  thing  else,  we  shall  be  obliged  by  an  explanation  of  the  charge, 
and  also  of  the  sentence  which  immediately  follows,  "it  loosened  the 
ties  whereby  men  are  bound  to  their  native  land."  Here  I  can  not 
even  guess  his  meaning  :  he  wished,  I  suppose,  to  round  off  the  sen- 
tence. It  carried  disunion  and  discord  into  private  life,  breaking  up 
families  and  friendship."  The  author  forgets  to  state  how  often  it 
carried  into  families  peace,  and  love,  and  order.  Of  this  the  instances 
were  innumerable ;  and  where  it  otherwise  happened,  what  was  the 
cause  ?  Some  branches  of  a  family  became  seriously  impressed  ;  re- 
nounced the  follies  of  life ;  frequented  the  house  of  prayer ;  and  con- 
nected themselves  with  the  people  among  whom  they  had  been  brought 
to  a  real  acquaintance  with  religion.  The  consequence  was,  that  in 
some  cases  "  a  man's  enemies  were  those  of  his  own  household." 
Methodism  thus,  like  primitive  Christianity,  became  incidentally,  and 
by  the  bigotry,  the  worldliness,  sometimes  the  wickedness,  of  other 
parts  of  the  family,  the  source  of  disunion ;  and  Mr.  Southey  urges  the 
precise  objection  which  was  made  of  old  to  Christianity  itself.  The 
cases  are  of  the  same  class ;  the  dispute  was  not  with  Methodism,  so 
much  as  with  the  new  and  religious  temper  with  which  the  Gospel, 
heartily  received,  had  imbued  the  opposed  and  persecuted  parties. 
Did  the  blame  in  such  cases  lay  with  Methodism,  or  with  that  intol- 
erance, and  enmity  to  truth  and  piety,  with  which  the  members  of 
some  families  opposed  the  others,  on  no  other  account  than  they  had 
become  "  righteous  overmuch,"  and  from  whom  in  return  they  received 
nothing  but  kindness  ?  True  and  serious  Christianity,  under  any  other 
form,  would  have  produced  precisely  the  same  effect.  The  real  reason 
of  the  opposition  and  ill  will  in  such  cases,  may  be  found  in  the  words 
of  the  Apostle,  "  they  think  it  strange  that  ye  run  not  with  them  to  the 
same  excess  of  riot."  But  Mr.  Southey  attempts  to  confirm  this  repre- 
sentation by  quoting  a  passage  from  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  sermons, 
which,  though  he  does  not  at  all  understand,  he  thinks  sufficient  to 
waiTant  him  in  exclaiming,  "  what  infinite  domestic  unhappiness  must 
this  abominable  spirit  have  occasioned !"  The  passage  is,  as  for 
"  brothers  and  sisters,  if  they  are  of  the  world,  you  are  under  no  obli- 
gation to  be  intimate  with  them,  you  may  be  civil  and  friendly  at  a 


OF  METHODISM. 


307 


alone,  before  they  can  speak  plain,  perhaps  before  they 
can  speak  at  all.  Whatever  pains  it  costs,  break  the  will, 
if  you  would  not  damn  the  child.  Let  a  child  from  a  year 
old  be  taught  to  fear  the  rod  and  to  cry  softly ;  from  that 
age  make  him  do  as  he  is  bid,  if  you  whip  him  ten  times 
running  to  effect  it.  If  you  spare  the  rod,  you  spoil  the 
child  :  if  you  do  not  conquer,  you  ruin  him.  Break  his 
will  now,  and  his  soul  shall  live,  and  he  will  probably  bless 
you  to  all  eternity."  He  exhorts  parents  never  to  com- 
mend their  children  for  any  thing;  and  says,  "that  in  par- 
ticular they  should  labor  to  convince  them  of  atheism,  and 
show  them  that  they  do  not  know  God,  love  him,  delight  in 
him,  or  enjoy  him,  any  more  than  do  the  beasts  that  per- 
ish !"  If  Wesley  had  been  a  father  himself,  he  would 
have  known  that  children  are  more  easily  governed  by 
love  than  by  fear.  There  is  no  subject,  that  of  government 
excepted,  upon  which  so  many  impracticable  or  injurious 
systems  have  been  sent  into  the  world  as  that  of  educa- 

distance."  But  what  does  Mr.  Wesley  mean  by  not  being  "  intimate 
with  them?"  Simply  not  in  that  degree  as  to  partake  of  their  spirit, 
and  join  in  their  sins.  Mr.  Southey,  had  he  been  disposed  to  give  a 
just  interpretation  to  this  passage,  might  have  perceived  this,  from 
comparing  the  different  parts  of  the  same  sermon  from  which  he  has 
quoted  it;  for  Mr.  Wesley's  advice  there,  as  to  the  conduct  of  true 
Christians  to  men  in  general,  can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  be  more 
liberal  than  that  he  would  give  in  the  case  of  our  own  relations.  "  We 
are  '  to  honor  all  men,'  as  redeemed  by  His  blood  who  '  tasted  death 
for  every  man.'  We  are  to  bear  them  tender  compassion — we  are 
never  willingly  to  grieve  their  spirits,  or  give  them  pain ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  to  give  them  all  the  pleasure  we  innocently  can ;  seeing  we 
are  "  to  please  all  men  for  their  good."  We  are  never  to  aggravate 
their  faults,  but  willingly  allow  all  the  good  that  is  in  them.  We  ought 
to  speak  to  them  on  all  occasions  in  the  most  kind  and  obliging  manner 
we  can — we  are  to  behave  to  them  with  all  courtesy,  showing  them  all 
the  good  we  can,  without  countenancing  them  in  sin."  "  Let  love  be 
the  constant  temper  of  your  soul.  See  that  your  heart  be  filled  at  all 
times,  and  on  all  occasions,  with  real,  undissembled  benevolence,  not 
only  to  those  who  love  you,  but  to  every  soul  of  man.  Whenever  you 
open  your  lips,  let  it  be  with  love,  and  let  there  be  on  your  tongue  the 
law  of  kindness."  Now  such  passages  ought  certainly  to  have  been 
quoted  before  Mr.  Southey  had  declaimed  against  the  "  abominable 
spirit"  of  Methodism;  and  he  ought  to  have  shown  how  the  above 
advices  tended  to  infinite  family  dissensions."  He  has  also  said  in 
another  place,  that  Methodism  opposes  but  a  feeble  barrier  against  the 
breach  of  the  Fifth  Commandment,  and  has  given  another  passage  from 
Mr.  Wesley  in  a  perverted  sense,  in  support  of  the  charge.  Let  him 
read  Mr.  Wesley's  sermon  "  On  Obedience  to  Parents,"  and  he  may  seo 
reason  to  be  more  just  in  some  future  edition  of  his  work,  should  it  be 
called  for. — Rev.  R-  Watson.] 


308 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


tioii ;  and,  among  bad  systems,  that  of  Wesley  is  one  of 
the  very  worst. 

The  rigid  doctrine  which  he  preached  concerning  riches,* 
being  only  one  degree  more  reasonable  than  that  of  St. 
Francis,  prevented  Methodism  from  extending  itself  as  it 
otherwise  might  have  done,  among  those  classes  where 
these  notions  would  have  been  acted  upon  by  zealous 
mothers.  When  Wesley  considered  the  prodigious  in- 
crease of  his  Society,  "  from  two  or  three  poor  people,  to 
hundreds,  to  thousands,  to  myriads,"  he  affirmed  that  such 
an  event,  considered  in  all  its  circumstances,  had  not  been 
seen  upon  earth  since  the  time  that  St.  John  went  to  Abra- 
ham's bosom.  But  he  perceived  where  the  principle  of 
decay  was  to  be  found.  "  Methodism,"  says  he,  "  is  only 
plain,  scriptural  religion,  guarded  by  a  few  prudential  regu- 
lations. The  essence  of  it  is  holiness  of  heart  and  life  : 
the  circumstantials  all  point  to  this  ;  and,  as  long  as  they 
are  joined  together  in  the  people  called  Methodists,  no 
weapon  formed  against  them  shall  prosper.  But  if  ever 
the  circumstantial  parts  are  despised,  the  essential  will 
soon  be  lost ;  and  if  ever  the  essential  parts  should  evapo- 
rate, what  remains  will  be  dung  and  dross.  I  fear,  wherever 
riches  have  increased,  the  essence  of  religion  has  decreased 
in  the  same  proportion.  Therefore  I  do  not  see  how  it  is 
possible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  for  any  revival  of  true 
religion  to  continue  long.  For  religion  must  necessarily 
produce  both  industry  and  frugality,  and  these  can  not  but 
produce  riches.  But  as  riches  increase,  so  will  pride, 
anger,  and  love  of  the  world  in  all  its  branches.  How 
then  is  it  possible  that  Methodism,  that  is,  a  religion  of  the 
heart,  though  it  flourishes  now  as  a  green  bay-tree,  should 
continue  in  this  state  1  For  the  Methodists  in  every  place 
grow  diligent  and  frugal ;  consequently  they  increase  in 
goods.  Hence  they  proportion  ably  increase  in  pride,  in 
anger,  in  the  desire  of  the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the  eyes,  and 
the  pride  of  life.  So,  although  the  form  of  religion  re- 
mains, the  spirit  is  swiftly  vanishing  away.  Is  there  no 
way  to  prevent  this — this  continual  decay  of  pure  religion  1 
We  ought  not  to  prevent  people  from  being  diligent  and 
frugal ;  we  must  exhort  all  Christians  to  gain  all  they  can, 
and  to  save  all  they  can  ;  that  is,  in  effect,  to  grow  rich. 
What  way,  then,  can  we  take,  that  our  money  may  not 
sink  us  to  the  nethermost  hell]  There  is  one  way,  and 
♦  [See  Appendix,  Note  XXXlll.— Am,  Ed.} 


OP  xMETHODlSM. 


309 


there  is  no  other  under  heaven.  If  those  who  gain  all 
they  can,  and  save  all  they  can,  will  likewise  give  all  they 
can,  then  the  more  they  gain  the  more  they  will  grow  in 
grace,  and  the  more  treasure  they  will  lay  up  in  heaven." 

Upon  this  subject  Wesley's  opinions  were  inconsistent 
with  the  existing  order  of  society.  "  Every  man,"  he  said, 
"  ought  to  provide  the  plain  necessaries  of  life  for  his  wife 
and  children,  and  to  put  them  into  a  capacity  of  providing 
these  for  themselves  when  he  is  gone  :  I  say,  these — the 
plain  necessaries  of  life,  not  delicacies,  not  superfluities ; 
for  it  is  no  man's  duty  to  furnish  them  with  the  means 
either  of  luxury  or  idleness.  The  designedly  procuring 
more  of  this  world's  goods  than  will  answer  the  foregoing 
purposes  ;  the  laboring  after  a  larger  measure  of  worldly 
substance;  a  larger  increase  of  gold  and  silver;  the  laying 
up  any  more  than  these  ends  require,  is  expressly  and 
absolutely  forbidden."  And  he  maintained,  that  whoever 
did  this  practically  denied  the  faith,  was  worse  than  an 
African  infidel,  became  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  purchased  for  himself  hell-fire.  How  injurious, 
if  such  opinions  were  reduced  to  practice,  they  would 
prove  to  general  industry,  and  how  incompatible  they  were 
with  the  general  welfare  of  the  world,  Wesley  seems  not 
to  have  regarded.  Not  less  enthusiastic  in  this  respect 
than  Francis  or  Loyola,  and  not  less  sincere  also,  he  ex- 
claimed:  "I  call  God  to  record  upon  my  soul,  that  I  advise 
no  more  than  I  practice.  I  do,  blessed  be  God,  gain,  and 
save,  and  give  all  I  can ;  and,  I  trust  in  God,  I  shall  do, 
while  the  breath  of  life  is  in  my  nostrils." 

This  was  strictly  true :  Wesley  had  at  heart  the  advice 
which  he  gave.*    He  dwelt  upon  it  with  great  earnestness 

*  Upon  this  principle  he  began  in  his  youth,  and  acted  upon  it 
throughout  his  long  Hfe.  "  This,"  said  he,  in  a  sermon,  "  was  the 
practice  of  all  the  young  men  at  Oxford  who  were  called  Methodists. 
For  example  :  one  of  them  had  thirty  pounds  a-year ;  he  lived  upon 
twenty-eight,  and  gave  away  forty  shillings.  The  next  year,  receiving 
sixty  pounds,  he  still  lived  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  away  two-and- 
thirty.  The  third  year  he  received  ninety  pounds,  and  gave  away  sixty- 
two.  The  fourth  year  he  received  a  hundred  and  twenty  pounds; 
still  he  lived,  as  before,  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  to  the  poor  ninety- 
two."  It  was  of  himself  he  spoke.  It  is  affirmed  that,  in  the  course 
of  his  life,  he  gave  away  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  pounds ;  and  the 
assertion  is  probably  well  founded.  "All  the  profit  of  his  literary 
labors,  all  that  he  received  or  could  collect  (and  it  amounted,  says  Mr. 
Nichols,  to  an  immense  sum,  for  he  was  his  own  printer  and  bookseller), 
was  devoted  to  charitable  purposes." 

[And  how  is  this  course  of  action  "injui-ious  in  practice"  and  "in- 


310  MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 

in  one  of  his  last  sermons,  a  few  months  only  before  his 
death.  "  After  you  have  gamed  all  you  can,"  said  he, 
**  and  saved  all  you  can,  wanting  for  nothing,  spend  not 
one  pound,  one  shilling,  or  one  penny,  to  gratify  either 
the  desire  of  the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the  eyes,  or  the  pride 
of  life,  or  for  any  other  end  than  to  please  and  glorify  God. 
Having  avoided  this  rock  on  the  right  hand,  beware  of 
that  on  the  left.  Hoard  nothing.  Lay  up  no  treasure  on 
earth,  but  give  all  you  can,  that  is,  all  you  have.  I  defy  all 
the  men  upon  earth,  yea,  all  the  angels  in  heaven,  to  find 
any  other  way  of  extracting  the  poison  from  riches.  After 
having  served  you  between  sixty  and  seventy  years,  with 
dim  eyes,  shaking  hands,  and  tottering  feet,  I  give  you 
this  advice,  before  I  sink  into  the  dust.  I  am  pained  for 
you  that  you  are  rich  in  this  world.  You  who  receive  five 
hundred  pounds  a-year,  and  spend  only  two  hundred,  do 
you  give  three  hundred  back  to  God  ]  If  not,  you  cer- 
tainly rob  God  of  that  three  hundred.  You  who  receive 
two  hundred,  and  spend  but  one,  do  you  give  God  the 
other  hundred  1    If  not,  you  rob  him  of  just  so  much. 

*  Nay,  may  I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my  own  ]'  Here 
lies  the  ground  of  your  mistake.  It  is  not  your  otvn.  It 
can  not  be,  unless  you  are  lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 

*  However,  I  must  provide  for  my  children.'  Certainly  : 
but  how  ]  By  making  them  rich  %  Then  you  will  proba- 
bly make  them  heathens,  as  some  of  you  have  done  already. 
Secure  them  enough  to  live  on  ;  not  in  idleness  and  luxury, 
but  by  honest  industry.  And  if  you  have  not  children, 
upon  what  scriptural  or  rational  principle  can  you  leave  a 
groat  behind  you  more  than  will  bury  you  1  Oh  !  leave 
nothing  behind  you !  Send  all  you  have  before  you  into  a 
better  world  !  Lend  it,  lend  it  all  unto  the  Lord,  and  it 
shall  be  paid  you  again.  Haste,  haste,  my  brethren,  haste, 
lest  you  be  called  away  before  you  have  settled  what  you 
have  on  this  security.  When  this  is  done,  you  may  boldly 
say,  *  Now  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  die  !  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !  Come,  Lord  Jesus ! 
come  quickly !'  " 

There  were  times  when  "Wesley  perceived  and  acknowl- 
edged how  little  real  reformation  had  been  effected  in  the 

compatible  with  the  general  welfare  of  the  world  ?"  Does  it  transcend 
our  Lord's  instruction  to  the  young  man  who  inquired  how  he  should 
obtain  eternal  life  ?  "  Go,  and  sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor, 
and  thou  shalt  have  ti'easure  in  heaven." — Ara.  Ed."] 


OP  METHODISM. 


311 


great  body  of  his  followers  *  **  Might  I  not  have  expect- 
ed," said  he,  "  a  general  increase  of  faith  and  love,  of  right- 
eousness and  true  holiness;  yea,  and  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit — love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  meekness,  gentle- 
ness, fidelity,  goodness,  temperance  ]  Truly,  when  I  saw 
what  God  had  done  among  his  people  between  forty  and 
fifty  years  ago,  when  I  saw  them  warm  in  their  first  love, 
magnifying  the  Lord,  and  rejoicing  in  God  their  Savior,  I 
could  expect  nothing  less  than  that  all  these  would  have 
lived  like  angels  here  below ;  that  they  would  have  walk- 
ed as  continually  seeing  Him  that  is  invisible,  having  con- 
stant communion  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  living  in 
eternity,  and  walking  in  eternity.  I  looked  to  see  *  a 
chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  pe- 
culiar people  in  the  whole  tenor  of  their  conversation 
'  showing  forth  His  praise  who  had  called  them  into  his 
marvelous  light.'  "  But,  instead  of  this,  it  brought  forth  er- 
ror in  ten  thousand  shapes.  It  brought  forth  enthusiasm, 
imaginary  inspiration,  ascribing  to  the  all-wise  God  all  the 
wild,  absurd,  self-inconsistent  dreams  of  a  heated  imagina- 
tion. It  brought  forth  pride.  It  brought  forth  prejudice, 
evil-surmising,  censoriousness,  judging  and  condemning 
one  another ;  all  totally  subversive  of  that  brotherly  love 
which  is  the  very  badge  of  the  Christian  profession,  with- 
out which  whosoever  liveth  is  counted  dead  before  God. 
It  brought  forth  anger,  hatred  malice,  revenge,  and  every 
evil  word  and  work;  all  direful  fruits,  not  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  of  the  bottomless  pit.  It  brought  forth  such 
base,  groveling  affections,  such  deep  earthly-mindedness 
as  that  of  the  poor  heathens,  which  occasioned  the  lament- 
ation of  their  own  poet  over  them  :  O  curvoe  in  terras  ani- 
mcB  et  ccelestium  inanes  !  "  O  souls  bowed  down  to  earth, 
and  void  of  God  !"  And  he  repeated,  from  the  pulpit,  a 
remark  which  had  been  made  upon  the  Methodists  by  one 
whom  he  calls  a  holy  man,  that  "  never  was  there  before  a 
people  in  the  Christian  Church  who  had  so  much  of  the 
power  of  God  among  them,  with  so  little  self-denial." 

Mr.  Fletcher  also  confirms  this  unfavorable  representa- 
tion, and  indicates  one  of  its  causes.  There  were  members 
of  the  society,  he  said,  who  spoke  in  the  most  glorious  man- 
ner of  Christ,  and  of  their  interest  in  his  complete  salva- 
tion, and  yet  were  indulging  the  most  unchristian  tempers, 

♦  [The  reader  will  find  a  complete  refutation  of  this  most  mifair  par- 
agraph in  the  Appendix.    See  Note  XXXIII  B. — Am.  Ed.'\ 


312 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


and  living  in  the  greatest  immoralities.  "  For  some  years," 
said  he,  "  I  have  suspected  there  is  more  imaginary  than 
unfeigned  faith  in  most  of  those  who  pass  for  believers. 
With  a  mixture  of  indignation  and  grief  have  I  seen  them 
carelessly  follow  the  stream  of  corrupt  nature,  against 
which  they  should  have  manfully  wrestled  ;  and  when  they 
should  have  exclaimed  against  their  Antinomianism,  I  have 
heard  them  cry  out  against  the  legality  of  their  wicked 
hearts,  which,  they  said,  still  suggested  they  were  to  do 
something  in  order  to  salvation."  Antinomianism,  he  said, 
was,  in  general,  '*  a  motto  better  adapted  to  the  state  of 
professing  congregations,  societies,  families,  and  individu- 
als, than  holiness  unto  the  Lord,  the  inscription  that  should 
be  even  upon  our  horses'  bells."  He  saw  what  evil  had 
been  done  by  *'  making  much  ado  about  finished  salvation'' 
"  The  smoothness  of  our  doctrine,"  said  he,  "  will  atone  for 
our  most  glaring  inconsistencies.  We  have  so  whetted  the 
Antinomian  appetite  of  our  hearers  that  they  swallow  down 
almost  any  thing."* 

Against  this  error,  to  which  the  professors  of  sanctity  so 
easily  incline,  Wesley  earnestly  endeavored  to  guard  his 
followers.  But  if  on  this  point  he  was,  during  the  latter, 
and,  indeed,  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  blameless,  it  can 
not  be  denied  that  his  system  tended  to  produce  more  of 
the  appearance  than  of  the  reality  of  religion.  It  dealt  too 
much  in  sensations,  and  in  outward  manifestations  of  theo- 
pathy  ;  it  made  religion  too  much  a  thing  of  display,  an 
affair  of  sympathy  and  confederation ;  it  led  persons  too 

*  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  this  quotation,  does  not  refer  at  all  to  tho  members 
of  the  Methodist  Societies,  and  the  "  followers"  of  Mr.  Wesley.  On  the 
contrary,  he  is  speaking  of  those  who  adopted  the  Antinomian  creed, 
the  virulent  opposers  of  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  "  followers,"  and  he  points 
out  the  practical  evils  of  the  Antinomian  heresy  and  error,  which  never 
infected  the  Methodist  Societies,  which  from  their  commencement  were 
well  instructed  in  this  controversy,  and  were  the  steady  and  often  ar- 
dent opponents  of  Calvinism  in  all  its  forms.  The  phrases  which  Mr. 
Fletcher  uses  in  these  extracts  sufficiently  prove  this.  "  ChrisVs  com- 
plete salvation,''^  "finished  salvation"  &c.,are  expressions  which  were 
never  in  use  among  us ;  they  mark  the  Shibboleth  of  persons  of  very 
opposite  views  to  those  which,  from  the  first,  were  taught  by  Mr.  W es- 
ley.  On  the  ground  of  these  misrepresentations  Mr.  Southey  concludes 
that  Mr.  Wesley's  system  "  tended  to  produce  more  of  the  appearance 
than  of  the  reality  of  religion."  But  how  does  he  know  this  ?  He  has 
no  intimate  or  personal  acquaintance  with  it.  The  only  authority  on 
which  he  grounds  the  inference  lies  in  the  quotations  which  have  just 
been  examined,  and  which  he  has  either  greatly  mistaken,  or  design- 
edly mutilated  and  perverted. — Rev.  R.  Watson. 


OF  METHODISM. 


313 


much  from  their  homes  and  their  closets ;  it  imposed  too 
many  forms  ;  it  required  too  many  professions  ;  it  exacted 
too  many  exposures.  And  the  necessary  consequence  was, 
that  many,  when  their  enthusiasm  abated,  became  mere 
formalists,  and  kept  up  a  Pharisaical  appearance  of  holi- 
ness, when  the  whole  feeling  had  evaporated. 

It  was  among  those  classes  of  society  whose  moral  and 
religious  education  had  been  blindly  and  culpably  neglect- 
ed, that  Methodism  produced  an  immediate  beneficial  effect; 
and,  in  cases  of  brutal  depravity  and  habitual  vice,  it  often 
produced  a  thorough  reformation,  which  could  not  have 
been  brought  about  by  any  less  powerful  agency  than  that 
of  religious  zeal.  "  Sinners  of  every  other  sort,"  said  a 
good  old  clergyman,  "  have  I  frequently  known  converted 
to  God  :  but  an  habitual  drunkard  I  have  never  known  con- 
verted." **  But  I,"  said  Wesley,  have  known  five  hun- 
dred, perhaps  five  thousand."*  To  these  moral  miracles 
he  appealed  in  triumph,  as  undeniable  proofs  that  Method- 
ism was  an  extraordinary  work  of  God.  "  I  appeal,"  said 
he,  "to  every  candid,  unprejudiced  person,  whether  we 
may  not  at  this  day  discern  all  those  signs  (understanding 
the  words  in  a  spiritual  sense)  to  which  our  Lord  referred 
John's  disciples  The  blind  receive  their  sight.'  Those 
who  were  blind  from  their  birth,  unable  to  see  their  own 
deplorable  state,  and  much  more  to  see  God,  and  the  reme- 
dy he  has  prepared  for  them,  in  the  Son  of  his  love,  now 
see  themselves,  yea,  and  '  the  light  of  the  glory  of  God,  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.'  The  eyes  of  their  understanding 
being  now  opened,  they  see  all  things  clearly.  *  The  deaf 
hear.'  Those  that  were  before  utterly  deaf  to  all  the  out- 
ward and  inward  calls  of  God,  now  hear  not  only  his  prov- 
idential calls,  but  also  the  whispers  of  his  grace.    *  The 

*  I  am  afraid  that  Wesley  did  not  refer  to  the  same  calamitous  vice 
as  the  good  old  clergyman  meant.  Wesley  may  have  known  five  hun- 
dred or  five  thousand  work  people  who  got  drunk  whenever  they  had 
money  to  procure  liquor;  this  might  occur  twice  a-week,  so  as  to  fast- 
en on  the  man  the  name  of  habitual  drunkard,  when,  in  fact,  a  frequent 
drunkard  was  the  truer  description.  But  the  old  clergyman  probably 
meant  a  daily,  periodical  sot,  in  whom  the  obscure  will,  which  is  the 
radical  of  his  plastic  life,  is  infected.  And  here  a  true  reformation 
would  be  a  true  miracle,  equivalent  to  re-creation.  To  such  a  fact,  if  I 
could  ascertain  it,  I  should  appeal  with  more  confidence  than  to  the 
puddeu  removal  of  disease  from  a  whole  ward  of  a  hospital.  To  God 
all  things  are  possible ;  and  Christian  faith  is  the  strongest  means  by 
v^^hich  he  manifests  his  power :  I  dare  not,  therefore,  believe  it  impos- 
sible.—S.  T.  C. 
VOL.  U.  O 


314 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


lame  walk.*  Those  who  never  before  arose  from  the  earth, 
or  moved  one  step  toward  heaven,  are  now  walking  in  all 
the  ways  of  God  ;  yea,  running  the  race  that  is  set  before 
them.  *  The  lepers  are  cleansed.'  The  deadly  leprosy  of 
sin  which  they  brought  with  them  into  the  world,  and  which 
no  art  of  man  could  ever  cure,  is  now  clean  departed  from 
them.  And  surely,  never,  in  any  age  or  nation  since  the 
Apostles,  have  those  words  been  so  eminently  fulfilled — 
*  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  unto  them' — as  they 
are  at  this  day.  At  this  day,  the  Gospel  leaven,  faith  work- 
ing by  love,  inward  and  outward  holiness,  or  (to  use  the 
words  of  St.  Paul)  righteousness  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  hath  so  spread  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
particularly  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  in  the  Islands, 
in  the  north  and  south,  from  Georgia  to  New  England  and 
Newfoundland,  that  sinners  have  been  truly  converted  to 
God,  thoroughly  changed  both  in  heart  and  in  life,  not  by 
tens  or  by  hundreds  only,  but  by  thousands,  yea,  by  myr- 
iads. The  fact  can  not  be  denied  :  we  can  point  out  the 
persons,  with  their  names  and  places  of  abode  :  and  yet  the 
wise  men  of  the  world,  the  men  of  eminence,  the  men  of 
learning  and  renown,  can  not  imagine  what  we  mean  by 
talking  of  any  extraordinary  work  of  God." 

Forcible  examples  are  to  be  found  of  this  true  conver- 
sion, this  real  regeneration ;  as  well  as  many  affecting  in- 
stances of  the  support  which  religion,  through  the  means  of 
Methodism,  has  given  in  the  severest  afflictions,*  and  of  the 
peace  and  contentmentt  which  it  has  afforded  to  those  who 

*  In  Dr.  Coke's  History  of  the  West  Indies  there  is  one  remarkable 
instance,  but  it  is  too  painful  to  be  repeated. 

t  Of  this  there  is  a  beautiful  example  in  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley by  one  of  his  female  disciples,  who  was  employed  in  the  Orphan 
House  at  Newcastle.  "  I  know  not,"  she  says,  "  how  to  agree  to  the 
not  working.  I  am  still  unwilling  to  take  any  thing  from  any  body.  I 
work  out  of  choice,  having  never  yet  learned  how  a  woman  can  be  idle 
and  innocent.  I  have  had  as  blessed  times  in  my  soul  sitting  at  work 
as  ever  I  had  in  my  life  ;  especially  in  the  night-time,  when  I  see  noth- 
ing but  the  light  of  a  candle  and  a  white  cloth,  hear  nothing  but  the 
sound  of  my  own  breath,  with  God  in  my  sight  and  heaven  in  my  soul, 
I  think  myself  one  of  the  happiest  creatures  below  the  skies.  I  do  not 
complain  that  God  has  not  made  me  some  fine  thing,  to  be  set  up  to  be 
gazed  at ;  but  I  can  heartily  bless  him  that  he  has  made  me  just  what 
I  am,  a  creature  capable  of  the  enjoyment  of  himself.  If  I  go  to  the 
window  and  look  out,  I  see  the  moon  and  stars :  I  meditate  a  while 
on  the  silence  of  the  night,  consider  this  world  as  a  beautiful  structure, 
and  the  woi-k  of  an  almighty  hand  ;  then  I  sit  dovrn  to  work  agaiu,  and 
think  myself  one  of  the  happiest  beings  in  it." 


OP  METHODISM. 


315 


without  it  would  have  been  forlorn  and  hopeless.  Many, 
perhaps  most  of  those  conversions,  w^ere  produced  by  field- 
preaching;  and  it  is  probable,  therefore,  that  Methodism 
did  more  good  in  its  earlier  than  in  its  latter  days,  when 
preaching  in  the  open  air  was  gradually  disused,  as  chap- 
els were  multiplied.  The  two  brothers,  and  the  more 
zealous  of  their  followers,  used  at  first  also  to  frequent  Bed- 
lam and  the  prisons,  for  the  purpose  of  administering  con- 
solation to  those  who  stood  most  in  need  of  it.  When 
Methodism  was  most  unpopular,  admission  at  these  places 
was  refused  them,  which  occasioned  Wesley  to  exclaim, 
"  So  we  are  forbid  to  go  to  Newgate,  for  fear  of  making 
them  wicked,  and  to  Bedlam,  for  fear  of  driving  them  mad  !" 
In  both  places,  and  in  hospitals  also,  great  good  might  be 
effected  by  that  zeal  which  the  Methodists  possess,  were  it 
tempered  with  discretion.  If  they  had  instituted  societies 
to  discharge  such  painful  ofiices  of  humanity  as  are  per- 
formed by  the  Sccurs  de  la  Charitc^  in  France,  and  by  the 
Beguines  of  Brabant  and  Flanders,  the  good  which  they 
might  have  effected  would  have  been  duly  appreciated  and 
rewarded  by  public  opinion.*    It  is  remarkable  that  none 

Both  the  feeling  and  the  expression  in  this  letter  are  so  sweet,  that 
the  reader  will  probably  be  as  sorry  as  I  was  to  discover  that  this  happy 
state  of  mind  was  not  permanent.  In  a  letter  of  Wesley's,  written  three 
years  afterward,  he  says,  "  I  know  not  what  to  do  more  for  poor  Jenny 
Keith  (that  was  her  name).  Alas !  from  what  a  height  is  she  fallen ! 
What  a  burning  and  shining  light  was  she  six  or  seven  years  ago  !  But 
thus  it  ever  was.  Many  of  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  many  of  the  last 
first." 

*  ["  It  so  happens,  that  such  societies  have  been  instituted.  In  every 
principal  town  we  have  a  society  for  the  visiting  and  relieving  the  poor, 
and  friendless,  and  sick,  who  are  not  members  of  our  Society;  and 
great  are  the  sums  thus  spent,  as  well  as  the  number  of  visitors,  male 
and  female,  who  seek  out  the  victims  of  poverty  and  disease  of  every 
profession  of  religion,  regarding  only  their  necessities,  in  cellars,  gar- 
rets, and  other  abodes  of  disease,  contagion,  and  wretchedness,  to  min- 
ister to  their  wants.  The  good  thus  effected  by  their  efforts  has  also, 
though  Mr.  Southey  knows  it  not,  been  "  duly  appreciated  by  public 
opinion,"  as  the  large  public  collections  for  the  Stranger's  Friend  So- 
ciety, and  other  societies,  made  in  our  chapels,  sufficiently  testify ;  as 
well  as  the  liberal  subscriptions  and  donations  constantly  received,  and 
especially  in  London,  from  persons  of  all  ranks,  entirely  unconnected 
with  us,  but  who  know  the  persevering  zeal  of  the  visitors,  and  that 
systematic  management  of  these  societies,  which,  while  it  effectually 
guards  against  imposition,  reaches,  by  patient  investigation,  the  cases 
of  retiring  and  modest  distress.  This  is  another  instance  in  proof  of 
how  little  our  author  knows  of  a  people  as  to  whom  he  utters  opinions 
and  censures  so  confident.  The  kind  of  Societies  which  he  thinks 
would  entitle  us  to  public  support  actually  exist." — Rev.  R.  Watsos.^ 


316 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


of  their  abundant  enthusiasm  should  have  taken  this  direc- 
tion, and  that  so  little  use  should  have  been  made  of  the 
opportunity  when  the  prisons  were  again  opened  to  them. 
The  Wesleys  appear  not  to  have  repeated  their  visits  after 
the  exclusion.  One  of  their  followers,  by  name  Silas  Told, 
a  weak,  credulous,  and,  notwithstanding  his  honest  zeal, 
not  always  a  credible  man,  attended  at  Newgate  for  more 
than  twenty  years  :  his  charity  was  bestowed  almost  exclu- 
sively upon  condemned  criminals.  After  his  death  he  had 
no  successor  in  this  dismal  vocation  ;  and  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing shown  in  what  manner  a  prison  may  be  made  a  school 
of  reformation,  was  reserved  for  Mrs.  Fry  and  the  Quak- 
ers. 

In  estimating  the  effects  of  Methodism,  the  good  which 
it  has  done  indirectly  must  not  be  overlooked.  As  the 
Reformation  produced  a  visible  reform  in  those  parts  of 
Christendom  where  the  Romish  Church  maintained  its  su- 
premacy, so,  though  in  a  less  degree,  the  progress  of  Wes- 
ley's disciples  has  been  beneficial  to  our  Establishment,  ex- 
citing in  many  of  the  parochial  clergy  the  zeal  which  was 
wanting.  Where  the  clergy  exert  themselves,  the  growth 
of  Methodism  is  checked ;  and  perhaps  it  may  be  said 
to  be  most  useful  where  it  is  least  successful.  To  the 
impulse,  also,  which  was  given  by  Methodism,  that  mis- 
sionary spirit  may  be  ascribed,  which  is  now  carrying  the 
light  of  the  Gospel  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
In  no  way  can  religious  zeal  be  so  beneficially  directed  as 
in  this. 

Some  evil  also,  as  well  as  some  good,  the  Methodists 
have  indirectly  caused.  Though  they  became  careful  in 
admitting  lay  preachers  themselves,  the  bad  example  of 
suffering  any  ignorant  enthusiast  to  proclaim  himself  a  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,  found  numerous  imitators.  The  num- 
ber of  roving  adventurers,*  in  all  the  intermediate  grades 
between  knavery  and  madness,  who  took  to  preaching  as  a 
thriving  trade,  brought  an  opprobrium  upon  religion  itself ; 
and  when  an  attempt  was  made  at  last  to  put  an  end  to 
this  scandal,  a  most  outrageous  and  unreasonable  cry  was 

♦  One  magistrate  in  the  county  of  Middlesex  licensed  fourteen  hun- 
dred preachers  in  the  coiu'se  of  five  years.  Of  six-and-thirly  persons 
who  obtained  licenses  at  one  session,  six  spelled  "ministers  of  the 
Gospel"  in  six  different  ways,  and  seven  signed  their  mark !  One  fel- 
low, who  applied  for  a  license,  being  asked  if  he  could  read,  replied, 
"  Mother  reads,  and  I  'spounds  and  'splains." 


OP  METHODISM. 


317 


raised,  as  if  the  rights  of  conscience  were  invaded.*  Per- 
haps the  manner  in  which  Methodism  has  familiarized  the 
lower  classes  to  the  work  of  combining  in  associations, 
making  rules  for  their  own  governance,  raising  funds,  and 
communicating  from  one  part  of  the  kingdom  to  another, 
may  be  reckoned  among  the  incidental  evils  which  have  re- 
sulted from  it ;  but  in  this  respect  it  has  only  facilitated  a 
process  to  which  other  causes  had  given  birth.  The  prin- 
ciples of  Methodism  are  strictly  loyal ;  and  the  language 
which  has  been  held  by  the  Conference  in  all  times  of  po- 
litical disturbance,  has  been  highly  honorable  to  the  So- 
ciety, and  in  strict  conformity  to  the  intentions  of  the  found- 
er. On  the  other  hand,  the  good  which  it  has  done,  by 
rendering  men  good  civil  subjects,  is  counteracted  by  sep- 
arating them  from  the  Church.  This  tendency  Wesley  did 
not  foresee ;  and  when  he  perceived  it,  he  could  not  pre- 
vent it.  But  his  conduct  upon  this  point  was  neither  con- 
sistent nor  ingenuous.  Soon  after  he  had  taken  the  mem- 
orable step  of  consecrating  Dr.  Coke  as  an  American 
bishop,  he  arrogated  to  himself  the  same  authority  for  Scot- 
land as  for  America ;  and  this,  he  maintained,  was  not  a 
separation  from  the  Church ;  "  not  from  the  Church  of 
Scotland,"  said  he,  "  for  we  were  never  connected  there- 
with ;  not  from  the  Church  of  England,  for  this  is  not  con- 
cerned in  the  steps  which  are  taken  in  Scotland.  What- 
ever, then,  is  done,  either  in  America  or  Scotland,  is  no 
separation  from  the  Church  of  England.  I  have  no  thought 
of  this  :  I  have  many  objections  against  it."  He  had  been 
led  toward  a  separation  imperceptibly,  step  by  step  ;  but 
it  is  not  to  his  honor  that  he  affected  to  deprecate  it  to  the 
last,  while  he  was  evidently  bringing  it  about  by  the  meas- 
ures which  he  pursued. 

*  A  writer  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  says,  concerning  Lord  Sidmouth's 
well-meant  bill,  "  By  the  gface  of  God  I  can  speak  for  one.  If  in  any 
place  I  am  called  to  preach,  and  can  not  obtain  a  license,  I  shall  feel 
myself  called  upon  to  break  through  all  restrictions,  even  if  death  be 
the  consequence ;  for  I  know  that  God  will  avenge  his  own  elect  against 
their  persecutors,  let  them  be  who  they  may.  The  men  who  are  sent 
of  God  must  deliver  their  message,  whether  men  will  hear,  or  whether 
they  will  forbear ;  whether  they  can  obtain  a  license  or  not.  If  God 
opens  their  mouths,  none  can  shut  them."  Every  man  his  own  pope, 
and  his  own  lawgiver !  These  are  days  in  which  authority  may  safely 
be  defied  in  such  cases :  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  man 
who  speaks  thus  plainly  would  not  have  been  so  ready  to  break  the 
laws  as  to  defy  them.  Had  he  been  born  in  the  right  place  and  time, 
he  would  have  enjoyed  a  glorification  in  the  Grass-market. 


318  MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  the  tendency  to  separation 
was  increased  by  the  vexatious  manner  in  which  some 
Lincolnshire  magistrates  enforced  the  letter  of  the  Tolera- 
tion Act.  They  insisted  that,  as  the  Methodists  professed 
themselves  members  of  the  Church,  they  were  not  within 
the  intention  of  the  Act :  they  refused  to  license  their  chap- 
els, therefore,  unless  they  declared  themselves  Dissenters : 
and  when  some  of  the  trustees  were  ready  to  do  this,  they 
were  told  that  this  was  not  sufficient  by  itself;  they  must 
declare,  also,  that  they  scrupled  to  attend  the  service  and 
sacrament  of  the  Church,  the  Act  in  question  having  been 
made  for  those  only  who  entertained  such  scruples.  This 
system  of  injurious  severity  did  not  stop  here.  Under- 
standing in  what  manner  these  magistrates  interpreted  the 
law,  some  informers  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and 
enforced  the  Conventicle  Act  against  those  who  had  preach- 
ing or  prayer-meetings  in  their  houses  :  the  persons  thus 
aggrieved  were  mostly  in  humble  circumstances,  so  that 
they  were  distressed  to  pay  the  fine ;  and  when  they  ap- 
pealed to  the  Quarter  Sessions,  it  was  in  vain  ;  the  magis- 
trates had  no  power  to  relieve  them.  Mr.  Wesley  was 
irritated  at  this,  and  wrote  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  in  a 
tone  which  he  had  never  before  assumed.  "  My  Lord," 
said  he,  in  his  letter,  "  I  am  a  dying  man,  having  already 
one  foot  in  the  grave.  Humanly  speaking,  I  can  not  long 
creep  upon  the  earth,  being  now  nearer  ninety  than  eighty 
years  of  age.  But  I  can  not  die  in  peace  before  I  have 
discharged  this  office  of  Christian  love  to  your  lordship.  I 
write  without  ceremony,  as  neither  hoping  nor  fearing  any 
thing  from  your  lordship,  or  from  any  man  living.  And  I 
ask,  in  the  name  and  in  the  presence  of  Him,  to  whom 
both  you  and  I  are  shortly  to  give  an  account,  why  do  you 
trouble  those  that  are  quiet  in  the  land — those  that  fear 
God  and  work  righteousness]  Does  your  lordship  know 
what  the  Methodists  are  1 — that  many  thousands  of  them 
are  zealous  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  strong- 
ly attached,  not  only  to  His  Majesty,  but  to  his  present 
ministry  1  Why  should  your  lordship,  setting  religion  out 
of  the  question,  throw  away  such  a  body  of  respectable 
friends  ?  Is  it  for  their  religious  sentiments  ]  Alas  !  my 
Lord,  is  this  a  time  to  persecute  any  man  for  conscience 
sake  ]  I  beseech  you,  my  lord,  do  as  you  would  be  done 
to.  You  are  a  man  of  sense  ;  you  are  a  man  of  learning ; 
nay,  I  verily  believe  (what  is  of  infinitely  more  value)  you 


OP  METHODISM. 


319 


are  a  man  of  piety.  Then  think,  and  let  think.  I  pray 
God  to  bless  you  with  the  choicest  of  his  blessings."*  These 
circumstances  occurred  a  few  months  only  before  his  death. 
His  friends  advised  that  an  application  should  be  made  to 
Parliament  for  the  repeal  of  the  Conventicle  Act.  In 
some  shape,  it  can  not  be  doubted  but  that  relief  would 
have  been  afforded,  and  several  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  who  respected  Mr.  Wesley,  would  have  stirred 
in  his  behalf.  But  his  growing  infirmities  prevented  him 
from  exerting  himself  upon  this  business  as  he  would  oth- 
erwise have  done. 

*  In  the  life  of  Wesley,  by  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Moore,  there  is  a  letter 
upon  this  occasion  in  a  more  angry  strain.  Probably  Mr.  Wesley,  upon 
reflection,  saw  that  he  had  written  in  an  unbecoming  manner,  and  sub- 
stituted in  its  place  that  which  I  have  copied  from  the  Life  by  Dr. 
Whitehead.  The  official  biographers,  indeed,  had  in  their  hands  such 
private  documents  only  as  had  not  been  intrusted  to  the  doctor. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


WESLEY    IN    OLD  AGE. 

"  Leisure  and  I,"  said  Wesley,  "  have  taken  leave  of 
one  another.  I  propose  to  be  busy  as  long  as  I  live,  if  my 
health  is  so  long  indulged  to  me."  This  resolution  was 
made  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  never  was  resolution  more 
punctually  observed.  "Lord,  let  me  not  live  to  be  use- 
less !"  was  the  prayer  which  he  uttered  after  seeing  one, 
whom  he  had  long  known  as  an  active  and  useful  magis- 
trate, reduced  by  age  to  be  "  a  picture  of  human  nature  in 
disgrace,  feeble  in  body  and  mind,  slow  of  speech  and  un- 
derstanding." He  was  favored  with  a  constitution  vigor- 
ous beyond  that  of  ordinary  men,  and  with  an  activity  of 
spirit  which  is  even  rarer  than  his  singular  felicity  of  health 
and  strength.  Ten  thousand  cares  of  various  kinds,  he 
said,  were  no  more  weight  or  burden  to  his  mind  than  ten 
thousand  hairs  were  to  his  head.  But,  in  truth,  his  only 
cares  were  those  of  superintending  the  work  of  his  am- 
bition, which  continually  prospered  under  his  hands.  Real 
cares,  he  had  none  ;  no  anxieties,  no  sorrows,  no  griefs, 
which  touched  him  to  the  quick.  His  manner  of  life  was 
the  most  favorable  that  could  have  been  devised  for  lon- 
gevity. He  rose  early,  and  lay  down  at  night  with  nothing 
to  keep  him  waking,  or  trouble  him  in  sleep.  His  mind 
was  always  in  a  pleasurable  and  wholesome  state  of  ac- 
tivity ;  he  was  temperate  in  his  diet,  and  lived  in  perpetu- 
al locomotion  :  and  frequent  change  of  air  is  perhaps  of 
all  things  that  which  most  conduces  to  joyous  health  and 
long  life. 

The  time  which  Mr.  Wesley  spent  in  traveling  was  not 
lost.  "  History,  poetry,  and  philosophy,"  said  he,  "  I 
commonly  read  on  horseback,  having  other  employment 
at  other  times."  He  used  to  throw  the  reins  on  his  horse's 
neck  ;  and  in  this  way  he  rode,  in  the  course  of  his  life, 
above  a  hundred  thousand  miles,  without  any  accident  of 
sufficient  magnitude  to  make  him  sensible  of  the  dan- 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


321 


ger  which  he  incurred.  His  friends,  however,  saw  the 
danger ;  and  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  they  pre- 
vailed upon  him  to  travel  in  a  carriage,  in  consequence  of 
a  hurt  which  had  produced  a  hydrocele.  The  ablest  prac- 
titioners in  Edinburgh  were  consulted  upon  his  case,  and 
assured  him  that  there  was  but  one  method  of  cure. 
"  Perhaps  but  one  natural  one,"  says  he,  "  but  I  think 
God  has  more  than  one  method  of  healing  either  the  soul 
or  the  body."  He  read,  upon  the  subject,  a  treatise 
which  recommends  a  seton  or  a  caustic ;  "  but  I  am  not 
inclined,"  said  he,  "  to  try  either  of  them  :  I  know  a  phy- 
sician that  has  a  shorter  cure  than  either  one  or  the  other." 
After  two  years,  however,  he  submitted  to  an  operation, 
and  obtained  a  cure.*  A  little  before  this,  he  notices  in 
his  Journal  the  first  night  that  he  had  ever  lain  awake  :  **  I 
believe,"  he  adds,  "  few  can  say  this ;  in  seventy  years  I 
never  lost  one  night's  sleep." 

He  lived  to  preach  at  Kingswood,  under  the  shade  of 
trees  which  he  had  planted ;  and  he  outlived  the  lease  of 
the  Foundry,t  the  place  which  had  been  the  cradle  of 
Methodism.  In  1778,  the  head-quarters  of  the  Society 
were  removed  to  the  City-road,  where  a  new  chapel  was 
built  upon  ground  leased  by  the  City.  Great  multitudes 
assembled  to  see  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation,  so 
that  Wesley  could  not,  without  much  difficulty,  get  through 
the  press  to  lay  the  first  stone,  in  which  his  name  and  the 
date  were  inserted  upon  a  plate  of  brass  :  "  This  was  lain 
by  John  Wesley,  on  April  1,  1777."  "  Probably,"  says 
he,  **  this  will  be  seen  no  more  by  any  human  eye,  but 

*  "  Mr.  Wathen  performed  the  operation,  and  drew  ofif  something 
more  than  half-a-pint  of  a  thin,  yellow,  transparent  water;  with  this 
came  out  (to  his  no  small  surprise)  a  pearl  of  the  size  of  a  small  shot, 
which  he  supposed  might  be  one  cause  of  the  disorder,  by  occasioning 
a  conflux  of  humors  to  the  part." — Journal  xvii.  p.  8.  What  an  extra- 
ordinary relic  would  this  pearl  have  been,  had  it  been  extracted  from 
a  Romish  saint !  I  know  not  whether  there  be  any  other  case  recorded 
of  physical  oystracism. 

t  Silas  Told  describes  this,  in  the  year  1740,  as  "a  ruinous  place, 
with  an  old  pantile  covering,  a  few  rough  deal-boards  put  together  to 
constitute  a  temporary  pulpit,  and  several  other  decayed  timbers, 
which  composed  the  whole  structure."  No  doubt  it  was  improved 
afterward.  Mr.  Wesley's  preaching  hours,  when  he  began  there,  were 
five  in  the  morning  and  seven  in  the  evening,  for  the  convenience  of 
the  laboring  part  of  the  congregation.  The  men  and  women  sat 
apart,  and  there  were  no  pews,  or  difference  of  benches,  or  appointed 
place  for  any  person. 

o* 


322 


WESLEY  IN   OLD  AGE. 


will  remain  there  till  the  earth  and  the  works  thereof  are 
burnt  up."  Charles,  having  long  ceased  to  itinerate,  used 
to  officiate  here  ;  and  the  lay  preachers,  who  were  always 
jealous  of  him,  were  greatly  offended,  because  he  excluded 
them  from  the  pulpit,  by  serving  the  chapel  twice  on  Sun- 
days, when  John  was  not  in  town.  They  complained  of 
this,  as  invidious  and  derogatory  to  themselves ;  and  Wes- 
ley so  far  yielded  to  their  importunities,  as  to  promise  that 
one  of  their  body  should  preach  when  Charles  could  not, 
an  arrangement  which  preferred  them  to  the  clergymen  in 
the  Connection.  Charles  was  hurt  at  this  concession  of  his 
brother's,  and  with  good  reason.  He  represented  that  many 
persons,  who  had  subscribed  toward  the  building  of  the 
chapel,  and  were  friends  to  Methodism,  were  yet  not 
members  of  the  Society,  but  true  Churchmen ;  and  that, 
from  regard  to  them  and  to  the  Church,  not  out  of  ill  will 
to  the  preachers,  he  wished  the  Church  service  to  be  con- 
tinued there  ;  for  this  also  was  made  a  matter  of  complaint 
against  him.  Next  to  his  brother,  he  affirmed,  he  had  the 
best  right  to  preach  there  ;  and  he  used  it  because  he  had 
so  short  a  time  to  preach  anywhere.  **  I  am  sorry,"  said 
he,  "  you  yielded  to  the  lay  preachers  :  I  think  them  in  the 
greatest  danger  through  pride.  They  affect  to  believe  that 
I  act  as  a  clergyman  in  opposition  to  them.  If  there  was 
no  man  above  them,  what  would  become  of  them  ! — how 
how  would  they  tear  one  another  in  pieces  !  Convince 
them,  if  you  can,  that  they  want  a  clergyman  over  them,  to 
keep  them  and  the  flock  together.  But  rather  persuade 
them,  if  you  can,  to  be  the  least,  not  the  greatest,  and  then 
all  will  be  right  again.  You  have  no  alternative  but  to 
conquer  that  spiiit,  or  be  conquered  by  it.  The  preachers 
do  not  love  the  Church  of  England.  What  must  be  the 
consequence  when  we  are  gone  1  A  separation  is  inevita- 
ble. Do  you  not  wish  to  keep  as  many  good  people  in  the 
Church  as  you  can  ?  Something  might  be  done  to  save 
the  remainder,  if  you  had  resolution,  and  would  stand  by 
me  as  firmly  as  I  will  by  you." 

This  ill-temper  in  the  preachers  produced  a  schism  in 
the  Connection.  An  Irish  clergyman,  being  at  Bath  on 
account  of  his  wife's  health,  was  desired  by  Mr.  Wesley  to 
preach  every  Sunday  evening  in  the  Methodist  chapel,  as 
long  as  he  remained  there.  As  soon  as  Wesley  had  left 
that  city,  a  lay  preacher,  by  name  M'Nab,  raised  a  sort  of 
rebellion  upoq  this  ground,  saying  it  was  the  common  cause 


WESLEY   IN   OLD  AGE. 


323 


of  all  the  lay  preachers,  for  they  were  appointed  by  the 
Conference,  not  by  Mr.  Wesley,  and  they  would  not  suffer 
the  clergy  to  ride  over  their  heads.  This  touched  Mr. 
Wesley  where  he  was  most  sensitive.  He  set  out  for 
Bath,  summoned  the  Society,  and  read  to  them  a  paper 
which  he  had  drawn  up  many  years  before,  upon  a  some- 
what similar  occasion,  and  which  had  been  read  to  the 
Conference  of  1766.*  He  observed  that  the  rules  of  the 
preachers  were  fixed  by  him  before  any  Conference  ex- 
isted, and  that  the  twelfth  rule  stated,  "  above  all,  you 
are  to  preach  when  and  where  I  appoint."  This  funda- 
mental rule  M'Nab  had  opposed,  and  therefore  he  expelled 
him.  But  the  mutinous  preacher  had  thrown  wildfire 
among  the  people  ;  and  occasioned  anger,  jealousies,  judg- 
ing each  other,  backbiting,  and  tale-bearing  without  end 
strange  weeds  to  spring  up  in  the  garden  of  Christian  per- 
fection !t 

On  this  occasion,  as  on  all  others,  when  his  authority 
was  invaded,  Wesley  acted  with  promptitude  and  decision. 
He  had  great  talents  for  government ;  and  even  when  it 
was  necessary  to  conform  to  circumstances  which  he  could 
not  control,  he  understood  how  important  it  was  that  he 
should  never  appear  to  yield.  But  though,  by  his  presence 
of  mind,  and  skill  in  directing  the  minds  of  men,  he  con- 
trived in  difficult  circumstances  to  save  himself  from  any 
sacrifice  of  pride,  he  was  not  always  so  successful  on  the 
score  of  principle  ;  for  his  attachment  to  the  Church  was 
sacrificed  to  the  desire  of  extending  and  presei-ving  his 
power.  Contented  if  he  could  stave  off*  the  separation  as 
long  as  he  lived,  he  took  measures  which  prepared  for  it, 
just  as  he  provided  a  system  by  which  the  constitution  of 
his  Society  should  become  republican  after  his  death,  sat- 
isfied with  maintaining  his  authority  over  it  as  a  monarch 
during  his  life. 

The  remarkable  talents  with  which  the  Wesley  family 
were  endowed,  manifested  themselves  in  the  third  genera- 
tion as  strikingly  as  in  the  second.  The  two  sons  of  Charles 
were  among  the  most  distinguished  musicians  of  their  age. 
Their  father,  perceiving  the  decided  bent  of  their  genius, 
very  properly  permitted  them  to  follow  it,  and  make  the 

*  The  substance  of  this  paper  has  been  previously  given,  Vol.  II., 
pp.  86-88. 

t  Had  Southey  never  read  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares  ? 
—Am.  jEi.] 


324 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


science  of  music  their  profession.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
he  said,  "  I  am  clear,  without  doubt,  that  my  son's  concert 
is  after  the  will  and  order  of  Providence."  When  John 
printed  this  letter,  after  his  brother's  death,  he  added,  in  a 
note,  **  I  am  clear  of  another  mind."  Dr.  Coke  also  looked 
upon  the  concerts  which  were  performed  in  Charles  Wes- 
ley's own  house  as  being  highly  dishonorable  to  God,  and 
considered  him  as  criminal,  "by  reason  of  his  situation  in 
the  Church  of  Christ."  But  upon  mature  consideration 
the  doctor  saw  reason  to  alter  this  severe  opinion.  "  It 
has  established  them,"  said  Charles,  "  as  musicians,  in  a 
safe  and  honorable  way.  We  do  not  repent  that  we  did 
not  make  a  show  or  advantage  of  our  swans.  They  may 
still  make  their  fortunes,  if  I  will  venture  them  into  the 
world  ;  but  I  never  wish  them  rich  :  you  also  agree  with 
me  in  this.  Our  good  old  father  neglected  every  oppor- 
tunity of  selling  our  souls  to  the  devil." 

One  of  these  brothers  became  a  papist,  to  the  sore  grief 
of  his  parents.  Upon  this  occasion  John  addressed  a  letter 
to  them,  saying,  he  doubted  not  that  they  were  in  great 
trouble,  because  their  son  had  "changed  his  religion;" 
and,  deducing  a  topic  of  consolation  from  the  inaccuracy 
of  that  expression,  "  Nay,"  said  he,  "  he  has  changed  his 
opinions  and  ?node  of  worship,  but  that  is  not  religion;  it  is 
quite  another  thing.  Has  he  then,  you  may  ask,  sustained 
no  loss  by  the  change  ?  Yes,  unspeakable  loss  ;  because 
his  new  opinions  and  mode  of  w^orship  are  so  unfavorable 
to  religion,  that  they  make  it,  if  not  impossible  to  one  that 
knew  better,  yet  extremely  difficult.  What,  then,  is  reli- 
gion ]  It  is  happiness  in  God,  or  in  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God.  It  is  '  faith  working  by  love  :'  producing 
'  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.' 
In  other  words,  it  is  a  heart  and  life  devoted  to  God  ;  or 
communion  with  God  the  Father  and  the  Son  ;  or  the  mind 
which  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  enabling  us  to  walk  as  he 
walked.  Now,  either  he  has  this  religion,  or  he  has  not : 
if  he  has,  he  will  not  finally  perish,  notwithstanding  the 
absurd  unscriptural  opinions  he  has  embraced,  and  the 
superstitious  and  idolatrous  modes  of  worship.  But  these 
are  so  many  shackles  which  will  greatly  retard  him  in  run- 
ning the  race  that  is  set  before  him.  If  he  has  not  this 
religion — if  he  has  not  given  God  his  heart,  the  case  is 
unspeakably  worse  :  I  doubt  if  he  ever  will ;  for  his  new 
friends  will  continually  endeavor  to  hinder  him,  by  putting 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


325 


something  else  in  its  place,  by  encouraging  him  to  rest  in 
the  form,  notions,  or  externals,  without  being  born  again  ; 
without  having  Christ  in  him,  the  hope  of  glory  ;  without 
being  renewed  in  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him. 
This  is  the  deadly  evil.  I  have  often  lamented  that  he 
had  not  this  holiness,  without  which  no  man  can  see  the 
Lord.  But  though  he  had  it  not,  yet,  in  his  hours  of  cool 
reflection,  he  did  not  hope  to  go  to  heaven  without  it ;  but 
now  he  is  or  will  be  taught,  that,  let  him  only  have  a  right 
faith  (that  is,  such  and  such  notions),  and  add  thereunto 
such  and  such  externals^  and  he  is  quite  safe.  He  may 
indeed  roll  a  few  years  in  purging  fire,  but  hfe  will  surely 
go  to  heaven  at  last." 

The  father  felt  this  evil  so  deeply,  that,  it  is  asserted, 
one  of  the  last  things  he  said  upon  his  deathbed  was  to 
declare  his  forgiveness  of  the  person  by  whose  means  his 
son  had  been  perverted.  To  Mr.  Wesley  it  was  a  morti- 
fication as  well  as  a  grief ;  for  he  had  exposed  the  errors 
of  the  Romanists  in  some  controversial  writings,  perspicu- 
ously and  forcibly.  One  of  those  writings  gave  the  Catho- 
lics an  advantage,  because  it  defended  the  Protestant  As- 
sociation of  1780  ;  and  the  events  which  speedily  followed, 
were  turned  against  him.  But,  upon  the  great  points  in 
dispute,  he  was  clear  and  cogent ;  and  the  temper  of  this, 
as  of  his  other  controversial  tracts,  was  such,  that,  some 
years  afterward,  when  a  common  friend  invited  him  to 
meet  his  antagonist,  Father  O'Leary,  it  was  gratifying  to 
both  parties  to  meet  upon  terms  of  courtesy  and  mutual 
good  will. 

Before  Mr.  Wesley  submitted  to  the  operation,  he  con- 
sidered himself  as  almost  a  disabled  soldier ;  so  little  could 
he  reconcile  himself  to  the  restriction  from  horse-exercise. 
So  perfectly,  however,  was  he  reestabhshed  in  health, 
that,  a  few  months  afterward,  upon  entering  his  seventy- 
second  year,  he  asked,  "  How  is  this,  that  I  find  just  the 
same  strength  as  I  did  thirty  years  ago ;  that  my  sight  is 
considerably  better  now,  and  my  nerves  firmer  than  they 
were  then  ;*  that  I  have  none  of  the  infirmities  of  old  age, 

♦  Mr.  Wesley  believed  that  the  use  of  tea  made  his  hand  shake  so 
before  he  was  twenty  years  old,  that  he  could  hardly  write.  He  pub- 
lished an  essay  against  tea-drinking,  and  left  it  off  during  twelve  years ; 
then,  "  at  the  close  of  a  consumption,"  by  Dr.  Fothergill's  directions, 
he  used  it  again,  and  probably  learned  how  much  he  had  been  mistaken 
in  attributing  ill  ettects  to  so  refreshing  and  innocent  a  beverage. 


326 


WESLEY  IN   OLD  AGE. 


and  have  lost  several  I  had  in  my  youth  ]  The  grand  cause 
is  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  who  does  whatsoever  pleaseth 
him.  The  chief  means  are,  my  constantly  rising  at  four  for 
about  fifty  years  ;  my  generally  preaching  at  five  in  the 
morning — one  of  the  most  healthy  exercises  in  the  world  ; 
my  never  traveling  less,  by  sea  or  land,  than  four  thousand 
five  hundred  miles  in  a  year."  Repeating  the  same  ques- 
tion after  another  year  had  elapsed,  he  added  to  this  list  of 
natural  means,  "  the  ability,  if  ever  I  want,  to  sleep  imme- 
diately ;  the  never  losing  a  night's  sleep  in  my  life  ;  two 
violent  fevers,  and  two  deep  consumptions ;  these,  it  is 
true,  were  rough  medicines  ;  but  they  were  of  admirable 
service,  causing  my  flesh  to  come  again  as  the  flesh  of  a 
little  child.  May  I  add,  lastly,  evenness  of  temper  :  I  feel 
and  grieve  ;  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  fret  at  nothing, 
But  still,  the  help  that  is  done  upon  earth,  He  doth  it  him- 
self; and  this  he  doth  in  answer  to  many  prayers." 

He  himself  had  prayed  that  he  might  not  live  to  be  use- 
less ;  and  the  extraordinary  vigor  which  he  preserved,  to 
extreme  old  age,  might  well  make  him  believe  that,  in  this 
instance,  his  heart's  desire  had  been  granted.  The  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  age  found  him,  he  says,  "  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,"  just  the  same  as  when  he  entered  the  twenty- 
eighth  ;*  and,  upon  entering  his  eightieth,  he  blessed  God 
that  his  time  was  not  labor  and  sorrow,  and  that  he  found 
no  more  infirmities  than  when  he  was  in  the  flower  of  man- 
hood. But  though  this  uncommon  exemption  from  the 
burden  of  age  was  vouchsafed  him,  it  was  not  in  the  na- 
ture of  things  that  he  should  be  spared  from  its  feelings 
and  regrets.  The  days  of  his  childhood  returned  upon 
him  when  he  visited  Epworth  ;  and,  taking  a  solitary  walk 
in  the  church-yard  of  that  place,  he  says,  "  I  felt  the  truth 
of  '  one  generation  goeth,  and  another  cometh.^  See  how 
the  earth  drops  its  inhabitants,  as  the  tree  drops  its  leaves  !" 
Wherever  he  went,  his  old  disciples  had  passed  away,  and 
other  generations  had  succeeded  in  their  stead  ;  and,  at  the 
houses  to  which  he  looked  on  with  pleasure  in  the  course 
of  his  yearly  rounds,  he  found  more  and  more  frequently, 
in  every  succeeding  year,  that  death  had  been  before  him. 
Whole  families  dropped  off,  one  by  one,  while  he  contin- 
ued still  in  his  green  old  age,  full  of  life,  and  activity,  and 
strength,  and  hope,  and  ardor.    Such  griefs  were  felt  by 

*  "  In  the  year  1769,"  he  says,  "  I  weighed  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  pounds.    In  1783,  I  weighed  not  a  po^nd  wore  or  less." 


MR.  FLETCHER. 


327 


him  less  keenly  than  by  other  men ;  because  every  day 
brought  with  it  to  him  change  of  scene  and  of  persons ; 
and  because,  busy  as  he  was  on  earth,  his  desires  were  in 
heaven.  "  I  had  hopes,"  says  he,  in  his  Journal,  "  of  see- 
ing a  friend  at  Lewisham,  in  my  way :  and  so  I  did ;  but 
it  was  in  her  coffin,  It  is  well,  since  she  finished  her  course 
with  joy.  In  due  time  I  shall  see  her  in  glory."  To  one 
of  his  young  female  correspondents  he  says,  with  melan- 
choly anticipation,  "  I  sometimes  fear  lest  you  also,  as  those 
I  tenderly  love  generally  have  been,  should  be  snatched 
away.  But  let  us  live  to-day  !"  Many  of  his  most  ardent 
and  most  amiable  disciples  seem  to  have  been  cut  off,  in 
the  flower  of  their  youth,  by  consumption — a  disease  too 
frequently  connected  with  what  is  beautiful  in  form,  in  in- 
tellect, and  disposition. 

Mr.  Fletcher,  though  a  much  younger  man,  was  sum- 
moned to  his  reward  before  him.  That  excellent  person 
left  England,  under  all  the  symptoms  of  advanced  consump- 
tion, to  try  the  effect  of  his  native  air  ;  and,  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  death,  addressed  a  pastoral  letter  at  that  time  to  his 
parishioners.*  "  I  sometimes,"  said  he,  feel  a  desire  of 
being  buried  where  you  are  buried,  and  having  my  bones 
lie  in  a  common  earthen  bed  with  yours.  But  I  soon  re- 
sign that  wish  ;  and,  leaving  that  particular  to  Providence, 

*  In  the  year  1788,  Mr.  Wesley  printed  a  letter  written  to  him  from 
France  in  1770,  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  which  the  following  remarkable 
passage  occurs:  "A  set  of  Free-thinkers  (great  admirers  of  Voltaire 
and  Rousseau,  Bayle  and  Mirabeau)  seem  bent  upon  destroying  Chris- 
tianity and  government.  With  one  hand,  says  a  lawyer,  who  has  writ- 
ten against  them,  they  shake  the  throne,  and  with  the  other  they  throw 
down  the  altar.  If  we  believe  them,  the  world  is  the  dupe  of  kmgs 
and  priests;  religion  is  fanaticism  and  superstition;  subordination  is 
slavery  and  tyranny ;  Christian  morality  is  absurd,  unnatural,  and  im- 
practicable ;  and  Christianity  is  the  most  bloody  religion  that  ever  was. 
And  here  it  is  certain  that,  by  the  example  of  Christians,  so  called,  and 
by  our  continual  disputes,  they  have  a  great  advantage.  Popery  will 
certainly  fall  in  France  in  this  or  the  next  century ;  and  God  will  use 
these  vain  men  to  biing  about  a  reformation  here,  as  he  used  Henry 
VIII.  to  do  that  great  work  in  England :  so  the  madness  of  his  enemies 
shall  turn  at  last  to  his  pi-aise,  and  to  the  furtherance  of  his  kingdom. 
If  you  ask  what  system  these  men  adopt,  I  answer,  that  some  build, 
upon  Deism,  a  morality  founded  upon  self-preservation,  self-interest, 
and  self-honor.  Others  laugh  at  all  morality,  except  that  which  vio- 
lently disturbs  society ;  and  external  order  is  the  decent  cover  of  fatal- 
ism, while  materialism  is  their  system."  He  invites  all  Christians  "  to 
do  what  the  herds  do  on  the  Swiss  mountains,  when  the  wolves  make 
an  attack  upon  them :  instead  of  goring  one  another,  they  unite,  form 
,  a  close  battalion,  and  face  the  enem^  on  all  sides." 


328 


MR.  FLETCHER. 


exult  in  thinking  that  neither  life  nor  death  shall  ever  be 
able  (while  we  hang  on  the  Crucified,  as  He  hung  on  the 
cross)  to  separate  us  from  Christ  our  head,  nor  from  the 
love  of  each  other,  his  members."  His  recovery,  which 
appears  almost  miraculous,  was  ascribed  by  himself  more 
to  eating  plentifully  of  cherries  and  grapes,  than  to  any 
other  remedies.  His  friends  wished  him  to  remain  among 
them  at  Nyon  :  "  they  urged  my  being  born  here,"  said  he, 
"  and  I  reply,  that  I  was  bom  again  in  England,  and  there- 
fore that  is,  of  course,  the  country  which  to  me  is  the  dear- 
er of  the  two."  He  returned  to  his  parish,  and  married 
Miss  Bosanquet,  a  woman  perfectly  suited  to  him  in  age, 
temper,  piety,  and  talents.  "  We  are  two  poor  invalids," 
said  he,  "  who,  between  us,  make  half  a  laborer.  She 
sweetly  helps  me  to  dnnk  the  dregs  of  life,  and  to  carry 
with  ease  the  daily  cross."  His  account  of  himself,  after 
this  time,  is  so  beautiful,  that  its  insertion  might  be  pardon- 
ed here,  even  if  Mr.  Fletcher  were  a  less  important  per- 
sonage in  the  history  of  Methodism.  "  I  keep  in  my  sentry- 
box,"  says  he,  "till  Providence  remove  me;  my  situation 
is  quite  suited  to  my  little  strength.  I  may  do  as  much  or 
as  little  as  I  please,  according  to  my  weakness  ;  and  I  have 
an  advantage  which  I  can  have  no  where  else  in  such  a  de- 
gree :  my  little  field  of  action  is  just  at  my  door,  so  that,  if 
I  happen  to  overdo  myself,  I  have  but  a  step  from  my  pul- 
pit to  my  bed,  and  from  my  bed  to  my  grave.  If  I  had  a 
body  fall  of  vigor,  and  a  purse  full  of  money,  I  should  like 
well  enough  to  travel  about  as  Mr.  Wesley  does ;  but,  as 
Providence  does  not  call  me  to  it,  I  readily  submit.  The 
snail  does  best  in  its  shell." 

This  good  man  died  in  1785,  and  in  the  fifty-sixth  year 
of  his  age.  Volumes  have  been  filled,  and  are  perpetually 
being  filled,  by  sectarians  of  every  description,  with  ac- 
counts of  the  behavior  and  triumphant  hopes  of  the  dying, 
all  resembling  each  other ;  but  the  circumstances  of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  death  were  as  peculiar  as  those  of  his  life.  He 
had  taken  cold,  and  a  considerable  degree  of  fever  had 
been  induced ;  but  no  persuasion  could  prevail  upon  him 
to  stay  from  church  on  the  Sunday,  nor  even  to  permit  that 
any  part  of  the  service  should  be  performed  for  him.  It 
was  the  will  of  the  Lord,  he  said,  that  he  should  go;  and 
he  assured  his  wife  and  his  friends  that  God  would  strength- 
en him  to  go  through  the  duties  of  the  day.  Before  he  had 
proceeded  far  in  the  service,  he  grew  pale,  and  faltered  in 


DEATH  OF  MR.  FLETCHER. 


329 


his  speech,  and  could  scarcely  keep  himself  from  fainting. 
The  congregation  were  greatly  affected  and  alarmed ;  and 
Mrs.  Fletcher,  pressing  through  the  crowd,  earnestly  en- 
treated him  not  to  persevere  in  what  was  so  evidently  be- 
yond his  strength.  He  recovered,  however,  when  the  win- 
dows were  opened,  exerted  himself  against  the  mortal 
illness  which  he  felt,  went  through  the  service,  and  preach- 
ed _with  remarkable  earnestness,  and  with  not  less  effect, 
for  his  parishioners  plainly  saw  that  the  hand  of  death  was 
upon  him.  After  the  sermon,  he  walked  to  the  communion- 
table, saying,  *•  I  am  going  to  throw  myself  under  the  wings 
of  the  Cherubim,  before  the  Mercy-seat !"  "  Here"  (it  is 
his  widow  who  describes  this  last  extraordinary  effort  of 
enthusiastic  devotion)  "  the  same  distressing  scene  was  re- 
newed, with  additional  solemnity.  The  people  were  deep- 
ly affected  while  they  beheld  him  offering  up  the  last  lan- 
guid remains  of  a  life  that  had  been  lavishly  spent  in  their 
service.  Groans  and  tears  were  on  every  side.  In  going 
through  this  last  part  of  his  duty,  he  was  exhausted  again 
and  again  ;  but  his  spiritual  vigor  triumphed  over  his  bodi- 
ly weakness.  After  several  times  sinking  on  the  sacra- 
ment table,  he  still  resumed  his  sacred  work,  and  cheerfully 
distributed,  with  his  dying  hand,  the  love-memorials  of  his 
dying  Lord.  In  the  course  of  this  concluding  office,  which 
he  performed  by  means  of  the  most  astonishing  exertions, 
he  gave  out  several  verses  of  hymns,  and  delivered  many 
affectionate  exhortations  to  his  people,  calling  upon  them, 
at  intervals,  to  celebrate  the  mercy  of  God  in  short  songs 
of  adoration  and  praise.  And  now,  having  struggled 
through  a  service  of  near  four  hours'  continuance,  he  was 
supported,  with  blessings  in  his  mouth,  from  the  altar  to 
his  chamber,  where  he  lay  for  some  time  in  a  swoon,  and 
from  whence  he  never  walked  into  the  world  again."  Mr. 
Fletcher's  nearest  and  dearest  friends  sympathized  entirely 
with  him  in  his  devotional  feelings,  and,  therefore,  they  seem 
never  to  have  entertained  a  thought  that  this  tragedy  may 
have  exasperated  his  disease,  and  proved  the  direct  occa- 
sion of  his  death.  "  I  besought  the  Lord,"  says  Mrs.  Fletch- 
er, "  if  it  were  his  good  pleasure,  to  spare  him  to  me  a  little 
longer.  But  ray  prayer  seemed  to  have  no  wings;  and  I 
could  not  help  mingling  continually  therewith,  Lord,  give 
me  perfect  resignation !" 

On  the  Sunday  following  he  died  ;  and  that  day  also  was 
distinguished  by  circumstances  not  less  remarkable.  A 


330 


WESLEY   IN   OLD  AGE. 


supplicatory  hymn  for  his  recovery  was  sung  in  the  church  ; 
and  one  who  was  present  says,  it  is  impossible  to  convey 
an  idea  of  the  burst  of  sorrow  that  accompanied  it.  "  The 
whole  village,"  says  his  friend  Mr.  Gilpin,  "  wore  an  air 
of  consternation  and  sadness.  Hasty  messengers  were 
passing  to  and  fro,  with  anxious  inquiries  and  confused 
reports  ;  and  the  members  of  every  family  sat  together  in 
silence  that  day,  awaiting  with  trembling  expectation  the 
issue  of  every  hour."  After  the  evening  service,  several 
of  the  poor,  who  came  from  a  distance,  and  who  were 
usually  entertained  under  his  roof,  lingered  about  the 
house,  and  expressed  an  earnest  wish  that  they  might  see 
their  expiring  pastor.  Their  desire  was  granted.  The 
door  of  his  chamber  was  set  open  ;  directly  opposite  to 
which,  he  was  sitting  upright  in  his  bed,  with  the  curtains 
undrawn,  "  unaltered  in  his  usual  venerable  appearance  ;" 
and  they  passed  along  the  gallery  one  by  one,  pausing  as 
they  passed  by  the  door,  to  look  upon  him  for  the  last  time. 
A  few  hours  after  this  extraordinary  scene  he  breathed  his 
last,  without  a  struggle  or  a  groan,  in  perfect  peace,  and  in 
the  fulness  of  faith  and  of  hope.  Such  was  the  death  of 
Jean  Guillaume  de  la  Flechere,  or,  as  he  may  more  prop- 
erly be  designated,  in  this  his  adopted  country,  Fletcher 
of  Madeley,  a  man  of  whom  Methodism  may  well  be  proud, 
as  the  most  able  of  its  defenders ;  and  whom  the  Church 
of  England  may  hold  in  honorable  remembrance,  as  one 
of  the  most  pious  and  excellent  of  her  sons.  *'  I  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  him,  says  Mr.  Wesley,  **  for  above 
thirty  years.  I  conversed  with  him  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  without  the  least  reserve,  during  a  journey  of  many 
hundred  miles ;  and  in  all  that  time  I  never  heard  him 
speak  one  improper  word,  nor  saw  him  do  an  improper 
action.  Many  exemplary  men  have  I  known,  holy  in 
heart  and  life,  within  fourscore  years ;  but  one  equal  to 
him  I  have  not  known  :  one  so  inwardly  and  outwardly 
devoted  to  God,  so  unblamable  a  character  in  every  re- 
spect, I  have  not  found,  either  in  Europe  or  America, 
nor  do  I  expect  to  find  another  such  on  this  side  of 
eternity." 

Wesley  thought,  that  if  Mr.  Fletcher's  friends  had  not 
dissuaded  him  from  continuing  that  course  of  itinerancy 
which  he  began  in  his  company,  it  would  have  made  him 
a  strong  man.  And  that,  after  his  health  was  restored  by 
his  native  air,  and  confirmed  by  his  wife's  constant  care,  if 


WE3LEV  IN   OLD  AGE. 


331 


'*  be  had  used  this  health  in  traveling  all  over  the  kitigdom, 
five,  or  six,  or  seven  months  every  year  (for  which  never 
was  man  more  eminently  qualified,  no,  not  Mr.  Whitefield 
himself),  he  would  have  done  more  good  than  any  other 
man  in  England.  I  cannot  doubt,"  he  adds,  "  but  this 
would  have  been  the  more  excellent  way."  It  had  been 
Mr.  Wesley's  hope,  at  one  time,  that  after  his  death,  Mr. 
Fletcher  would  succeed  to  the  supremacy  of  the  spiritual 
dominion  which  he  had  established.  Mr.  Fletcher  was 
qualified  for  the  succession  by  his  thorough  disregard  of 
worldly  advantages,  his  perfect  piety,  his  devotedness  to 
the  people  among  whom  he  ministered,  his  affable  manner, 
and  his  popular  and  persuasive  oratory, — qualifications  in 
which  he  was  not  inferior  to  Wesley  himself  But  he  had 
neither  the  ambition  nor  the  flexibility  of  Mr.  Wesley  ;  he 
would  not  have  known  how  to  rule  or  how  to  yield  as  he 
did  :  holiness  with  him  was  all  in  all.  Wesley  had  the 
temper  and  talents  of  a  statesman  :  in  the  Romish  church 
he  would  have  been  the  general,  if  not  the  founder,  of  an 
order ;  or  might  have  held  a  distinguished  place  in  history,  as 
a  cardinal  or  a  pope.  Fletcher,  in  any  communion,  would 
have  been  a  saint. 

Mr.  Wesley  still  continued  to  be  the  same  marvelous 
old  man.  No  one  who  saw  him,  even  casually,  in  his  old 
age,  can  have  forgotten  his  venerable  appearance.  His 
face  was  remarkable  fine  ;  his  complexion  fresh  to  the  last 
week  of  his  life ;  his  eye  quick,  and  keen,  and  active. 
When  you  met  him  in  the  street  of  a  crowded  city,  he 
attracted  notice,  not  only  by  his  band  and  cassock,  and  his 
long  hair,  white  and  bright  as  silver,  but  by  his  pace  and 
manner,  both  indicating  that  all  his  minutes  were  num- 
bered, and  that  not  one  was  to  be  lost.  "  Though  I  am 
always  in  haste,"  he  says  of  himself,  **  I  am  never  in  a 
hurry  ;  because  I  never  undertake  any  more  work  than  I 
can  go  through  with  perfect  calmness  of  spirit.  It  is  true, 
I  travel  four  or  five  thousand  miles  in  a  year ;  but  I  gen- 
erally travel  alone  in  my  carriage,  and,  consequently,  am 
as  retired  ten  hours  a  day  as  if  I  were  in  a  wilderness. 
On  other  days,  I  never  spend  less  than  three  hours  (fre- 
quently ten  or  twelve)  in  the  day  alone.  So  there  are 
few  persons  who  spend  so  many  hours  secluded  from  all 
company."  Thus  it  was  that  he  found  time  to  read  much, 
and  write  voluminously.  After  his  eightieth  year,  he  went 
twice  to  Holland,  a  country  in  which  Methodism,  as  Quak- 


332 


WESLEY  IN   OLD  AGE. 


erism  had  done  before  it,  met  with  a  certain  degree  of 
success.  Upon  completing  his  eighty-second  year,  he 
says,  "Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  Godl  It  is  now  eleven 
years  since  I  have  felt  any  such  thing  as  weariness. 
Many  times  I  speak  till  my  voice  fails,  and  I  can  speak 
no  longer.  Frequently  I  walk  till  my  strength  fails,  and  I 
can  walk  no  farther ;  yet,  even  then,  I  feel  no  sensation  of 
weariness,  but  am  perfectly  easy  from  head  to  foot.  I 
dare  not  impute  this  to  natural  causes.  It  is  the  will 
of  God."  A  year  afterward  he  says,  "  I  am  a  wonder  to 
myself!  I  am  never  tired  (such  is  the  goodness  of  God) 
either  with  writing,  preaching,  or  traveling.  One  natural 
cause,  undoubtedly,  is,  my  continual  exercise,  and  change 
of  air.  How  the  latter  contributes  to  health  I  know  not ;  but 
certainly  it  does."  In  his  eighty-fourth  year  he  first  began 
to  feel  decay  ;  and,  upon  commencing  his  eighty-fifth,  he 
observes,  "  I  am  not  so  agile  as  I  was  in  times  past ;  I  do 
not  run  or  walk  so  fast  as  I  did.  My  sight  is  a  little  decayed. 
My  left  eye  is  grown  dim,  and  hardly  serves  me  to  read. 
I  have  daily  some  pain  in  the  ball  of  my  right  eye,  as  also 
in  my  right  temple  (occasioned  by  a  blow  received  some 
months  since),  and  in  my  right  shoulder  and  arm,  which  I 
impute  partly  to  a  sprain,  and  partly  to  the  rheumatism. 
I  find,  likewise,  some  decay  in  my  memory  with  regard  to 
names  and  things  lately  past ;  but  not  at  all  with  regard  to 
what  I  have  read  or  heard  twenty,  forty,  or  sixty  years 
ago.  Neither  do  I  find  any  decay  in  my  hearing,  smell, 
taste,  or  appetite  (though  I  want  but  a  third  part  of  the 
food  I  did  once),  nor  do  I  feel  any  such  thing  as  weariness, 
either  in  traveling  or  preaching.  And  I  am  not  conscious 
of  any  decay  in  writing  sermons,  which  I  do  as  readily, 
and,  I  believe,  as  correctly,  as  ever."  He  acknowledged, 
therefore,  that  he  had  cause  to  praise  God  for  bodily  as 
well  as  spiritual  blessings  ;  and  that  he  had  suffered  little, 
as  yet,  by  "  the  rush  of  numerous  years." 

Other  persons  perceived  his  growing  weakness,  before 
he  was  thus  aware  of  it  himself :  the  most  marked  symptom 
was  that  of  a  frequent  disposition  to  sleep  during  the  day. 
He  had  always  been  able  to  lie  down  and  sleep  almost  at 
will,  like  a  mere  animal,  or  a  man  in  little  better  than  an 
animal  state — a  consequence,  probably,  of  the  incessant 
activity  of  his  life :  this  he  himself  rightly  accounted  one 
of  the  causes  of  his  excellent  health,  and  it  was,  doubtless, 
a  consequence  of  it  also.    But  the  involuntary  slumbers 


DEATH   OF  CHARLES  WESLEY. 


333 


which  came  upon  him  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  were 
indications  that  the  machine  was  wearing  out,  and  would 
soon  come  to  a  stop.  In  1788,  he  lost  his  brother  Charles, 
who,  during  many  years,  had  been  his  zealous  coadjutor, 
and,  through  life,  his  faithful  and  affectionate  friend.  Lat- 
terly their  opinions  had  differed.  Charles  saw  the  evil 
tendency  of  some  part  of  the  discipline,  and  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  that  he  abominated  the  band-meetings*  which 
he  had  formerly  approved;  and,  adhering  faithfully  him- 
self to  the  Church,  he  regretted  the  separation  which  he 
foresaw,  and  disapproved  of  John's  conduct,  in  taking 
steps  which  manifestly  tended  to  facilitate  it.  Indeed, 
Mr.  Wesley  laid  aside,  at  last,  all  those  pretensions  by 
which  he  had  formerly  excused  himself;  and,  in  the  year 
1787,  with  the  assistance  of  two  of  his  clerical  coadjutors, 
Mr.  Creighton  and  Mr.  Peard  Dickinson,  he  ordained  two 
of  his  preachers,  and  consecrated  Mather  a  bishop  or  super 
intendent.  But  this  decided  difference  of  opinion  produced 
no  diminution  of  love  between  the  two  brothers.  They 
had  agreed  to  differ ;  and,  to  the  last,  John  was  not  more 
jealous  of  his  own  authority,  than  Charles  was  solicitous 
that  he  should  preserve  it.  "  Keep  it  while  you  live,"  he 
said,  "  and  after  your  death,  detur  digniori^  or  rather,  dig- 
niorihus.  You  can  not  settle  the  succession  :  you  can  not 
divine  how  God  will  settle  it."  Charles,  though  he  at- 
tained to  his  eightieth  year,  was  a  valetudinarian  through 
the  greatest  part  of  his  life,  in  consequence,  it  is  believed, 
of  having  injured  his  constitution  by  close  application  and 
excessive  abstinence  at  Oxford.  He  had  always  dreaded 
the  act  of  dying ;  and  his  prayer  was,  that  God  would 
grant  him  patience  and  an  easy  death.  A  calmer  frame  of 
mind,  and  an  easier  passage,  could  not  have  been  granted 
him;  the  powers  of  life  were  fairly  worn  out,  and,  without 
any  disease,  he  fell  asleep.  By  his  own  desire  he  was 
buried,  not  in  his  brother's  burying-ground,  because  it 
was  not  consecrated,  but  in  the  church-yard  of  Mary-le- 
bone,  the  parish  in  which  he  resided ;  and  his  pall  was 

♦  Miss  Wesley,  in  some  remarks  on  Mr.  Southey's  work,  with 
which  she  has  favored  me,  observes  on  this  passage,  "  I  can  bear  my 
testimony  (corroborated  by  my  mother),  that  my  dear  father  always 
considered  classes  and  bands  essential  to  preserve  order,  strengthen 
Christian-unity,  and  enable  the  leaders  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  their 
members.  That  he  abominated  BelVs  presumption,  and  excluded  those 
who  joined  his  bands  (so  indeed  did  my  uncle),  is  true ;  but  as  the  pass- 
age stands  it  implies  the  bands  in  general." — Rev.  R.  Watson.] 


334 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


supported  by  eight  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. 

It  was  reported  that  Charles  had  said,  his  brother  would 
not  outlive  him  more  than  a  year.  The  prediction  might 
have  been  hazarded  with  sufficient  likelihood  of  its  fulfil- 
ment ;  for  John  was  then  drawing  near  the  grave.  Upon 
his  eighty-sixth  birthday,  he  says,  "  I  now  find  1  grow  old. 
My  sight  is  decayed,  so  that  I  can  not  read  a  small  print, 
unless  in  a  strong  light.  My  strength  is  decayed ;  so  that 
I  walk  much  slower  than  I  did  some  years  since.  My 
memory  of  names,  whether  of  persons  or  places,  is  de- 
cayed, till  I  stop  a  little  to  recollect  them.  What  I  should 
be  afraid  of  is,  if  I  took  thought  for  the  morrow,  that  my 
body  should  weigh  down  my  mind,  and  create  either  stub- 
bornness, by  the  decrease  of  my  understanding,  or  peevish- 
ness, by  the  increase  of  bodily  infirmities.  But  thou  shalt 
answer  for  me,  O  Lord,  my  God  !"  His  strength  now 
diminished  so  much,  that  he  found  it  difficult  to  preach 
more  than  twice  a-day;  and  for  many  weeks  he  abstained 
from  his  five  o'clock  morning  sermons,  because  a  slow  and 
settled  fever  parched  his  mouth.  Finding  himself  a  little 
better,  he  resumed  the  practice,  and  hoped  to  hold  on  a 
little  longer  ;  but,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1790,  he 
writes,  "  I  am  now  an  old  man,  decayed  from  head  to  foot. 
My  eyes  are  dim  ;  my  right  hand  shakes  much  ;  my  mouth 
is  hot  and  dry  every  morning;  I  have  a  lingering  fever 
almost  every  day ;  my  motion  is  weak  and  slow.  How- 
ever, blessed  be  God  !  I  do  not  slack  my  labors :  I  can 
preach  and  write  still,"  In  the  middle  of  the  same  year, 
he  closed  his  cash  account-book  with  the  following  words, 
written  with  a  tremulous  hand,  so  as  to  be  scarcely  legible  : 
"  For  upwards  of  eighty-six  years  I  have  kept  my  accounts 
exactly  :  I  will  not  attempt  it  any  longer,  being  satisfied 
with  the  continual  conviction,  that  I  save  all  I  can,  and 
give  all  I  can  ;  that  is,  all  I  have."  His  strength  was  now 
quite  gone,  and  no  glasses  would  help  his  sight.  "  But  I 
feel  no  pain,"  he  says,  "from  head  to  foot;  only,  it  seems, 
nature  is  exhausted,  and,  humanly  speaking,  will  sink  more 
and  more,  till 

The  weaiy  springs  of  life  stand  still  at  last." 

On  the  Ist  of  February,  1791,  he  wrote  his  last  letter  to 
America.  It  shows  how  anxious  he  was  that  his  followers 
should  consider  themselves  as  one  united  body.    "  Sec," 


DEATH  OF  WESLEY. 


335 


Baid  he,  "  that  you  never  give  place  to  one  thought  of 
separating  from  your  brethren  in  Europe.  Lose  no  op- 
portunity of  declaring  to  all  men,  that  the  Methodists  are 
one  people  in  all  the  world,  and  that  it  is  their  full  deter- 
mination so  to  continue."  He  expressed  also  a  sense  that 
his  hour  was  almost  come.  **  Those  that  desire  to  write," 
said  he,  "  or  say  any  thing  to  me,  have  no  time  to  lose  ; 
for  time  has  shaken  me  hy  the  hand,  and  death  is  not  far 
behind words  which  his  father  had  used  in  one  of  the 
last  letters  that  he  addressed  to  his  sons  at  Oxford.  On 
the  17th  of  that  month,  he  took  cold  after  preaching  at 
Lambeth.  For  some  days  he  struggled  against  an  increas- 
ing fever,  and  continued  to  preach  till  the  Wednesday  fol- 
lowing, when  he  delivered  his  last  sermon.  From  that 
time  he  became  daily  weaker  and  more  lethargic,  and  on 
the  2d  of  March  he  died  in  peace  ;  being  in  the  eighty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  sixty-fifth  of  his  ministry. 

During  his  illness  he  said,  '*  Let  me  be  buried  in  nothing 
but  what  is  woolen  ;  and  let  my  corpse  be  carried  in  my 
coffin  into  the  chapel."  Some  years  before,  he  had  ])re- 
pared  a  vault  for  himself,  and  for  those  itinerant  preachers 
who  might  die  in  London.  .In  his  will  he  directed  that 
six  poor  men  should  have  twenty  shillings  each  for  carry- 
ing his  body  to  the  grave ;  for  I  particularly  desire,"  said 
he,  "  that  there  may  be  no  hearse,  no  coach,  no  escutcheon, 
no  pomp  except  the  tears  of  them  that  loved  me,  and  are 
following  me  to  Abraham's  bosom.  I  solemnly  adjure  my 
executors,  in  the  name  of  God,  punctually  to  observe  this." 
At  the  desire  of  many  of  his  friends,  his  body  was  carried 
into  the  chapel  the  day  preceding  the  interment,  and  there 
lay  in  a  kind  of  state  becoming  the  person,  dressed  in  his 
clerical  habit,  with  gown,  cassock,  and  band  ;  the  old  cleri- 
cal cap  on  his  head  ;  a  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  a  white 
handkerchief  in  the  other.  The  face  was  placid,  and  the 
expression  which  death  had  fixed  upon  his  venerable  fea- 
tures, was  that  of  a  serene  and  heavenly  smile.  The 
crowds  who  flocked  to  see  him  were  so  great,  that  it  was 
thought  prudent,  for  fear  of  accidents,  to  accelerate  the 
funeral,  and  perform  it  between  five  and  six  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  intelligence,  however,  could  not  be  kept  entirely 
secret,  and  several  hundred  persons  attended  at  that  un- 
usual hour.  Mr.  Richardson,  who  performed  the  service, 
had  been  one  of  his  preachers  almost  thirty  years.  When 
he  came  to  that  part  of  the  service,  "  Forasmuch  as  it  hath 


33G 


CONCLUSION. 


pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  unto  himself  the  soul  of  our 
brother^''  his  voice  changed,  and  he  substituted  the  word 
fatker ;  and  the  feeling  with  which  he  did  this  was  such, 
that  the  congi^egation,  who  were  shedding  silent  tears,  burst 
at  once  into  loud  weeping. 

Mr.  Wesley  left  no  other  property  behind  him  than  the 
copyright  and  current  editions  of  his  works,  and  this  he  be- 
queathed to  the  use  of  the  Connection  after  his  debts  should 
have  been  paid.  There  was  a  debt  of  ^£1600  to  the  fam- 
ily of  his  brother  Charles  ;  and  he  had  drawn  also  for  some 
years  upon  the  fund  for  superannuated  preachers,  to  sup- 
port those  who  were  in  full  employment.  When  he  was 
told  that  some  persons  murmured  at  this,  he  used  to  an- 
swer, "  What  can  I  do  ?  Must  the  work  stand  still  ]  The 
men  and  their  families  can  not  starve.  I  have  no  money. 
Here  it  is :  we  must  use  it ;  it  is  for  the  Lord's  work." 
The  money  thus  appropriated,  and  the  interest  due  upon 
it,  amounted  to  a  considerable  sum.  In  building  chapels, 
also,  the  expenses  of  the  Connection  outran  its  means,  so 
that  its  finances  were  left  in  an  embairassed  state.  The 
number  of  his  preachers  at  the  time  of  his  death  amounted 
in  the  British  dominions  to  .3 13,  in  the  United  States  to 
198  ;  the  number  of  members  in  the  British  dominions  was 

76,968,  in  the  United  States  57,621. 

##**## 

Such  was  the  life,  and  such  the  labors  of  John  Wesley ; 
a  man  of  great  views,  great  energy,  and  great  virtues. 
That  he  awakened  a  zealous  spirit,  not  only  in  his  own 
community,  but  in  a  Church  which  needed  something  to 
quicken  it,  is  acknowledged  by  the  members  of  that  Church 
itself ;  that  he  encouraged  enthusiasm  and  extravagance, 
lent  a  ready  ear  to  false  and  impossible  relations,  and  spread 
superstition  as  well  as  piety,  would  hardly  be  denied  by 
the  candid  and  judicious  among  his  own  people.  In  its 
immediate  effects,  the  powerful  principle  of  religion  which 
he  and  his  preachers  diffused,  has  reclaimed  many  from  a 
course  of  sin,  has  supported  many  in  poverty,  sickness,  and 
affliction,  and  has  imparted  to  many  a  triumphant  joy  in 
death.  What  Wesley  says  of  the  miracles  wrought  at  the 
tomb  of  the  Abbe  Paris,  may  fitly  be  applied  here  :  "  In 
many  of  these  instances,  I  see  great  superstition,  as  well  as 
strong  faith  :  but  God  makes  allowance  for  invincible  igno- 
rance, and  blesses  the  faith,  notwithstanding  the  supersti- 
tion."   Concerning  the  general  and  remoter  consequences 


CONCLUSION. 


337 


of  Methodism,  opinions  will  differ.  They  who  consider  the 
wide-spreading  schism  to  which  it  has  led,  and  who  know 
that  the  welfare  of  the  country  is  vitally  connected  with  its 
Church  Establishment,  may  think  that  the  evil  overbalances 
the  good.  But  the  good  may  endure,  and  the  evil  be  only 
for  a  time.  In  every  other  sect  there  is  an  inherent  spirit 
of  hostility  to  the  Church  of  England,  too  often  and  too 
naturally  connected  with  diseased  political  opinions.  So 
it  was  in  the  beginning,  and  so  it  will  continue  to  be,  as 
long  as  those  sects  endure.  But  Methodism  is  free  from 
this.  The  extravagances  which  accompanied  its  growth  are 
no  longer  encouraged,  and  will  altogether  be  discounten- 
anced, as  their  real  nature  is  understood.  This  can  not  be 
doubted.  It  is  in  the  natural  course  of  things  that  it  should 
purify  itself  gradually  from  whatever  is  objectionable  in  its 
institutions.  Nor  is  it  beyond  the  bounds  of  reasonable 
hope,  that,  conforming  itself  to  the  original  intention  of  its 
founders,  it  may  again  draw  toward  the  Establishment, 
from  which  it  has  seceded,  and  deserve  to  be  recognized 
as  an  auxiliary  institution,  its  ministers  being  analogous  to 
the  regulars,  and  its  members  to  the  tertiaries  and  confra- 
ternities of  the  Romish  church.  The  obstacles  to  this  are 
surely  not  insuperable,  perhaps  not  so  difficult  as  they  may 
appear.  And  were  this  effected  John  Wesley  would  then 
be  ranked,  not  only  among  the  most  remarkable  and  influ- 
ential men  of  his  age,  but  among  the  gieat  benefactors  of 
his  country  and  his  kind. 

VOL.  II.  P 


REMARKS 
ON  THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 

OF 

JOHN  WESLEY, 

BY  THE  LATE  ALEXANDER  KNOX,  ESQ. 


»     *     *  * 

Bellevue,  Delganny,  March  4th,  1^8. 

My  dear  sir, 

At  length  I  commit  my  papers  for  Mr.  Southey  into  your 
hands.  I  regret  that  T  do  not  send  them  in  a  fairer  form  ; 
but  I  have  been  delayed  so  long,  that  I  prefer  giving  them 
as  they  are,  to  the  procrastination  which  would  be  unavoid- 
able, were  I  to  have  attempted  a  more  sightly  transcript. 

As  to  this  matter,  the  fault  I  feel  chiefly  in  them,  is  re- 
dundance, but  I  wished  to  submit  to  Mr.  Southey  all  my 
thoughts  on  the  subject,  though  at  the  expense  of  prolixity, 
and,  possibly,  unnecessaiy  amplification. 

When  you  have  read  them,  your  opinion  of  them  will  be 
gratifying  to  me.  You  will  perceive  that  in  giving  my 
view  of  John  Wesley's  religious  principles,  I  have  pretty 
largely  developed  my  own.  These  will  not  be  new  to  you, 
and  I  earnestly  hope  that  Mr.  Southey  may  not  find  any 
thing  in  them  from  which  his  good  feelings  will  recoil,  or 
of  which  his  sound  judgment  will  disapprove. 

I  sincerely  thank  you  for  the  kind  interest  you  take  in 
my  health  (of  which  I  can  neither  boast  nor  complain),  and 
I  beg  that  when  you  write  to  Mr.  Southey,  you  will  assure 
him,  that  among  those  wbo  have  not  the  happiness  of  per- 


REMARKS  ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY.  339 

sonal  acquaintance  with  him,  he  can  not  have  a  more  cor- 
dial friend  than  myself.  Believe  me,  always, 

My  dear  sir, 
Your  most  faithful  and  deeply  obliged  Fiiend, 

Alexander  Knox. 

P.  S.  I  too  have  my  political  feelings  about  the  political 
state  of  things ;  and  though  I  am,  and  ever  have  been,  a 
determined  disapprover  of  the  Corporation  and  Test  Laws, 
yet  there  is  something  in  the  aspect  of  that  debate,  and  the 
course  in  which  it  is  proceeding,  that  makes  me  think  with 
awe,  and  almost  terror  (were  it  not  that  unerring  Wisdom 
rules),  at  the  times  on  which  Britain  may  be  entering. 


J^Q    *  *  *  * 

My  DEAR  SIR, 

It  has  not  been  from  want  of  interest  in  your  wish  to 
have  what  information  I  could  give  respecting  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, that  I  have  so  long  delayed  to  say  something  to  you  on 
the  subject.  I  wished  in  the  first  place  to  consider  what 
kind  of  matter  I  could  furnish,  which  would  not  be  un- 
worthy of  Mr.  Southey's  attention,  and  have  some  satisfac- 
tory bearing  on  the  particular  point  about  which  he  was 
anxious.  Having  thought  on  this  subject,  I  would  fain 
have  proceeded  to  execute  my  purpose ;  but  I  have  hap- 
pened to  have  so  little  command  of  time,  during  the  last 
four  or  five  months,  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  accom- 
plish sooner  what  I  can  truly  say  was  very  near  my  heart. 

I  do  not  think  that  the  letters  of  Mr.  Wesley  which  I 
possess  have  any  thing  in  them  that  could  strengthen  the 
mass  of  similar  evidence  ali'eady  before  the  public.  I  have 
between  forty  and  fifty  letters,  the  last  written  about  nine 
months  before  his  death.  I  myself  account  them  invalua- 
ble ;  as  they  still,  in  the  most  forcible  and  interesting  way, 
bring  the  good  old  man  before  me  ;  but  they  do  not  (and, 
indeed,  I  think,  could  not)  bear  any  fuller  testimony  to  his 
character  and  feelings  than  is  borne  in  the  collection  of 
letters  published  with  Mr.  Wesley's  other  works,  in  the 
year  1809. 

I  would  also  say  that,  on  the  particular  subject  which 
has  been  brought  before  Mr.  Southey,  while  my  letters 
would  afford  no  specific  evidence,  much  of  a  very  powerful 


340 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


kind  seems  to  me  to  be  furnished  by  some  of  those  which 
have  been  published.  Mr.  Southey  has  doubtless  observ- 
ed that  the  greater  part  of  them  are  addressed  to  female 
correspondents  ;  and,  I  think,  he  w^ill  agree  with  me  that 
the  characteristic  openness  which  marks  all  Mr.  Wesley's 
letters,  and  makes  them  be  felt  as  a  disclosure  of  his 
very  mind  and  heart,  is  never  more  conspicuous  than  when 
he  is  writing  to  his  friends  of  the  female  sex. 

It  is  certain  that  Mr.  Wesley  had  a  predilection  for  the 
female  character;  partly,  because  he  had  a  mind  ever  alive 
to  amiability,  and,  partly,  from  his  generally  finding  in  fe- 
males a  quicker  and  fuller  responsiveness  to  his  own  ideas 
of  interior  piety  and  affectionate  devotion.  To  his  female 
correspondents,  therefore  (as  it  strikes  me),  he  writes  with 
peculiar  effluence  of  thought  and  frankness  of  communica- 
tion. He,  in  fact,  unbosoms  himself  on  every  topic  which 
occurs  to  him,  as  to  kindred  spints,  in  whose  sympathies 
he  confided,  and  from  whose  re-communications  he  hoped 
for  additional  light  on  those  internal  concenis  which  were 
ever  uppermost  in  his  mind,  and  nearest  to  his  heart. 

Accordingly,  in  those  prompt  effusions,  all  Mr.  Wesley's 
peculiarities  are  in  fullest  display  :  his  confident  conclu- 
sions, from  scanty  or  fallacious  premises ;  his  unwarranta- 
ble value  for  sudden  revolutions  of  the  mind  ;  his  prone- 
ness  to  attribute  to  the  Spirit  of  God  what  might  more 
reasonably  be  resolved  into  natural  emotions,  or  illusive 
impressions  :  these  and  such  like  evidences  of  his  intel- 
lectual frailty  are  poured  forth  without  reserve  ;  in  stransfe 
union,  however,  with  observations  on  persons  and  things 
replete  with  acuteness  and  sagacity. 

But,  amid  this  anomaly  of  mind,  there  is  no  anomaly  of 
heart.  On  the  closest  examination,  no  sentiment,  no  in- 
clination, will  be  found  to  reflect  the  slightest  shade  on  Mr. 
Wesley's  moral  principles  or  feelings.  Whatever  mixtures 
there  may  be  of  speculative  error  or  injudicious  guidance, 
the  ultimate  object  is  uniformly  pure  and  excellent ;  be 
the  prescribed  means  of  advancement  what  they  may,  the 
point  aimed  at  is  consummate  virtue,  in  every  temper  and 
in  every  action. 

I  must  add,  that  the  character  of  the  letters  is  uniform  ; 
they  are  in  the  strictest  harmony  with  each  other,  and,  in- 
deed, with  every  thing  else  which  proceeded  from  him. 
It  is  the  same  John  Wesley,  whether  he  addresses  individ- 
uals or  addresses  thousands;  expressing  his  quick  concep- 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


341 


tions  with  an  unsuspecting  frankness ;  as  if  there  were  not 
a  thought  in  his  mind  which  he  wished  to  conceal ;  and  as 
if  he  had  no  wish  whatever,  except  for  the  spiritual  good 
of  those  who  sought  his  instruction. 

I  would  further  remark,  that,  to  read  John  Wesley's  let- 
ters, is  to  feel  that  he  wrote  as  he  spoke.  Their  unstudied 
simplicity  must  give  this  impression  ;  and  I  myself,  who  so 
often  heard  him  speak,  can  attest  its  justness.  It  will  hence 
follow  that  in  these  letters  we  have  an  authentic  exemplifi- 
cation not  only  of  Mr.  Wesley's  epistolary  correspondence, 
but  of  his  colloquial  intercourse  with  his  female  friends. 
He  so  literally  talks  upon  paper  as  to  make  it  inconceiva- 
ble that  he  should  have  conversed  with  them  in  any  other 
style  than  that  in  which  he  wrote  to  them;  and  while  he 
is  unreservedly  and  ardently  the  friend  of  all  to  whom  he 
writes,  the  flow  of  his  affection  is  so  pure,  and  so  paternal, 
as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  imagining  that  its  simplicity 
could  ever  have  been  marred  by  the  shadow  of  an  opposite 
mixture.  Such,  I  think,  would  be  the  impression  on  my 
mind,  solely  from  the  letters  themselves  ;  but  when  I  read 
them  with  that  decisive  comment  which  my  own  recollec- 
tions afford,  I  feel  with  a  certainty,  which  mathematical 
demonstration  could  not  exceed,  that  never,  for  one  mo- 
ment, was  the  evidence  of  those  letters  falsified,  or  their 
spirit  departed  from,  in  the  actual  intercourse  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's life,  in  whatever  circumstances  he  might  have  been 
placed,  or  into  whatever  society  he  might  have  been  thrown. 

The  indirect  testimony  which  Mr.  Wesley's  letters  to  his 
female  correspondents  afford  is  also  worthy  of  attention. 
While  they  manifest  the  inmost  feelings  of  the  writer,  they 
little  less  clearly  evince  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held 
by  those  to  whom  he  writes.  It  continually  app'ears,  from 
Mr.  Wesley's  mode  of  writing,  that  his  female  disciples 
consulted  him  as  one  to  whom  they  ascribed  the  spirit  as 
well  as  the  wisdom  of  an  Apostle.  The  subjects  treated  of 
establish  this  fact,  and  present,  as  it  were,  the  reflected 
image  of  as  unqualified  a  confidence  as  could  be  placed  in 
a  human  being.  We  have,  then,  virtually,  in  those  letters 
the  great  body  of  Mr.  Wesley's  female  friends  bearing  to 
hrs  character  the  most  unimpeachable  as  well  as  the  most 
concordant  witness.  And  let  it  be  remembered,  that  this 
evidence  is  given  on  the  fullest  knowledge ;  as,  from  Mr. 
Wesley's  constant  itinerancy,  his  friends  had  ever-recurring 
opportunities  of  observing  him,  in  every  point  of  view  and 


342 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


in  all  possible  conjunctures.  It  is  also  obvious  that  Mr 
Wesley's  female  correspondents  were  sincerely  pious,  and 
that  the  species  of  piety  which  influenced  them,  however 
chargeable  with  weakness,  is  perfectly  opposite  to  every 
kind  of  moral  laxity.  Their  respect  and  veneration,  there- 
fore, for  Mr.  Wesley  is  a  conclusive  evidence  of  his  uni- 
form rectitude  of  conduct;  for  had  there  been  any  variation 
in  this  respect,  it  must  have  been  observed  by  some  or  other 
of  those  intimate  female  friends  ;  and  had  such  a  discovery, 
at  any  time  or  in  any  instance,  been  made,  esteem  and  ven- 
eration would  instantly  have  been  changed  into  horror  and 
detestation. 

I  can,  besides,  say,  from  my  own  knowledge,  that  some 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  female  friends  possessed  acute  discernment 
and  solid  understanding.  I  have  been  acquainted  with  two 
gentlewomen,  to  whom  several  of  the  published  letters  were 
addressed  ;  and  in  whom,  in  a  peculiar  degree,  Mr.  Wesley 
reposed  confidence.  In  my  judgment,  those  two  persons 
were  as  little  likely  to  be  deceived  as  most  women  with 
whom  I  have  conversed  ;  and  I  am  assured  it  would  scarce- 
ly have  been  more  foreign  from  their  minds  to  suspect  St. 
Paul  of  latent  vice,  than  to  have  harbored  such  a  thought  of 
John  Wesley.  On  the  whole,  is  it  not  obvious  that,  in  the 
intimate  intercourse  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  for  so  many 
years  with  them,  and  countless  other  females  of  similar 
character,  continued,  uniform  imposition  was  impossible; 
and  that  the  argument  hence  arising  in  support  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's perfect  moral  consistency  is  irrefragable  ] 

After  all,  Mr.  Wesley's  published  letters  are  but  a  speci- 
men of  the  kind  of  communication  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  with  numberless  individuals, 
of  all  ages  and  sexes,  in  every  part  of  the  British  Isles.  All 
these  persons  had  opportunities  of  being  accurately  ac- 
quainted with  his  habits  and  course  of  life;  and  they  were 
interested  by  a  common  feeling  in  that  perfect  consistency 
of  his  character  which  was  indispensable  to  sustain  his 
system  of  discipline,  and  his  lessons  of  devotion.  Had, 
therefore,  a  shadow  of  ground  for  jealousy  in  this  respect 
been  at  any  time,  or  in  any  instance,  afforded,  I  can  say, 
with  confidence,  it  neither  could  nor  would  have  been  con- 
cealed. Whatever  may  have  been  the  defects  or  excesses 
of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  it  has  certainly  been  the  most 
moral  of  all  similar  associations ;  and  the  ruling  claim 
which  held  so  many  thousands  in  adherence  to  a  standard 


CHAEACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


343 


so  much  above  their  original  frame  of  mind  and  habits  of 
life,  was  the  exemplary  virtue  of  their  leader.  Any  devi- 
ation, therefore,  from  that  standard  in  Mr.  Wesley  would 
have  been  as  astounding  to  his  followers  as  the  fall  from  heav- 
en of  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude.  But  I  can  assert,  from 
my  own  knowledge,  that  the  minds  of  Mr.  Wesley's  people 
never  were  disturbed  by  such  a  thought.  For  the  last  five- 
and-twenty  years  of  his  life,  I  was  acquainted  with  every 
thing  material  which  concerned  him  or  them  ;  and  nothing, 
which  was  or  had  been  reported  respecting  him,  could 
have  escaped  my  cognizance.  Yet  never,  I  can  aver,  was 
his  fair  fame  sullied  by  the  slightest  breath  of  suspicion  ; 
and  no  intimation  ever  reached  my  ears,  which  did  not 
either  give  witness  to,  or  accord  with,  his  immaculate 
integrity. 

Mr.  Southey  is  fully  aware  of  the  severe  ordeal  through 
which  Mr.  Wesley  passed,  on  account  of  his  supposed 
errors  in  doctrine.  Never,  perhaps,  did  the  odium  theo' 
logicum  more  amply  vent  itself  than  in  the  libels  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  Calvinistic  antagonists.  Their  efforts  to  distort 
or  magnify  the  merest  trifles  into  serious  charges  show  how 
eagerly  they  would  have  availed  themselves  of  any  dark 
whisper  or  ambiguous  insinuation.  Their  great  quarrel 
with  Mr.  Wesley  was  on  account  of  the  supposed  self- 
righteous  stress  which  he  laid  on  moral  qualifications. 
How  decided  would  have  been  their  victory,  could  they, 
on  any  producible  ground,  have  made  a  charge  of  immoral- 
ity against  himself!  An  unfortunate  mistake,  in  a  book  of 
medical  prescriptions,  which  he  published,  under  the  title 
of  Primitive  Physic,  was  at  one  time  brought  against  him, 
as  involving  virtual  guilt  of  homicide.  When  such  crimi- 
nation vras  resorted  to,  would  any  matter  of  substantial 
attack  on  his  character  have  escaped  the  perspicacity  of 
his  vigilant  and  widely-spread  assailants  1 

To  these  prominent  evidences  of  Mr.  Wesley's  uniform 
integrity  I  must  presume  to  add  what  has  particularly  come 
within  my  own  immediate  observation,  and  state  the  im- 
pression made  upon  my  mind  by  that  long  acquaintance 
with  him,  which  I  soberly  regard  as  one  of  the  chief  prov- 
idential blessings  of  my  life. 

During  the  period  of  my  occasional  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Wesley,  I  passed  from  childhood  to  youth,  and  from  youth 
to  manhood,  not  without  some  material  changes  in  my 
mind  and  habits.    At  an  early  age  I  was  a  member  of  Mr. 


344 


REMARKS  ON   THE  LIFE  AND 


Wesley's  Society,  but  my  connection  with  it  was  not  of 
long  duration.  Having  a  growing  disposition  to  think  for 
myself,  I  could  not  adopt  the  opinions  which  were  current 
among  his  followers  ;  and,  before  I  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  my  relish  for  their  religious  practices  had  abated. 
Still,  my  veneration  for  Mr.  Wesley  himself  suffered  no 
diminution ;  rather,  as  I  became  more  capable  of  estimating 
him  without  prejudice,  my  conviction  of  his  excellence,  and 
my  attachment  to  his  goodness,  gained  fresh  strength  and 
deeper  cordiality. 

It  will  hardly  be  denied  that,  even  in  this  frail  and  cor- 
rupted world,  we  sometimes  meet  persons  who,  in  their 
very  mien  and  aspect,  as  well  as  in  the  whole  habit  of  life 
manifest  such  a  stamp  and  signature  of  virtue  as  to  make 
our  judgment  of  them  a  matter  of  intuition,  rather  than  a 
result  of  continued  examination.  I  never  met  a  human 
being  who  came  more  perfectly  within  this  desciiption  than 
J  ohn  Wesley.  It  was  impossible  to  converse  with  him,  I 
might  say,  to  look  at  him,  without  being  persuaded,  not 
only  that  his  heart  and  mind  were  animated  with  the  purest 
and  most  exalted  goodness,  but  that  the  instinctive  bent  of 
his  nature  accorded  so  congenially  with  his  Christian  prin- 
ciples, as  to  give  a  pledge  for  his  practical  consistency  in 
which  it  was  impossible  not  to  place  confidence. 

It  would  be  far  too  little  to  say  that  it  was  impossible  to 
suspect  him  of  any  moral  taint ;  for  it  was  obvious  that 
every  movement  bespoke  as  perfect  a  contrariety  to  all 
that  was  earthly  or  animal  as  could  be  imagined  in  a  mor- 
tal being.  His  countenance,  as  well  as  conversation,  ex- 
pressed an  habitual  gayety  of  heart,  which  nothing  but  con- 
scious virtue  and  innocence  could  have  bestowed.  He  was, 
in  truth,  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  moral  happiness 
whom  I  ever  saw  ;  and  my  acquaintance  with  him  has  done 
more  to  teach  me  what  a  heaven  upon  earth  is  implied  in 
the  maturity  of  Christian  piety,  than  all  I  have  elsewhere 
seen,  or  heard,  or  read,  except  in  the  sacred  volume. 

I  thus  express,  not  merely  what  I  felt  at  the  time,  but 
what  has  been  confirmed  by  deep  reflection  during  thirty- 
six  subsequent  years.  John  Wesley  was  not  a  man  to  be 
forgotten ;  and  various  events  which  have  occurred  both 
among  his  professed  followers  and,  generally,  in  what  is 
called  the  religious  world,  have  tended  to  prevent  my  recol- 
lection of  him  from  losing  any  j^ortion  of  its  original  in- 
terest.   The  puritanic  theology  which  was  revived  by  his 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


345 


fellow-laborer,  Whitefield,  and  which  has  latterly  become 
prevalent  even  within  the  pale  of  the  Established  Church, 
makes  the  contrasted  principles  of  John  Wesley  a  more  en- 
gaging subject  of  thought ;  and  the  result,  to  my  mind,  has 
been,  not  only  an  increased  value  for  those  principles,  but 
a  sincere  admiration  of  the  simplicity,  purity,  and  moral 
height  by  which  they  are  distinguished  from  the  dogmas 
of  all  other  active  religionists,  cotemporary  or  subsequent. 

I  need  scarcely  observe  that,  although  this  praise  could 
never  be  withheld  from  Mr.  Wesley,  it  peculiaily  belongs 
to  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life.  The  period,  therefore, 
of  my  acquaintance  with  him  was  that  also  of  his  improved 
views.  Of  these,  I  consider  his  second  set  of  published 
sermons  to  afford  the  best  exemplification  ;  and  one  of  their 
most  remarkable  features  is  the  ingenuous  frankness  with 
which  former  excesses  in  opinion  are  acknowledged  and 
rejected.  Though  little  can  be  said  for  those  discourses 
as  compositions  (except  that  they  show  what  their  author 
could  have  done,  had  composition  been  his  object),  I  can 
venture  to  assert  that,  as  much  as  is  possible,  they  bear  the 
impress,  and  breathe  the  spirit,  of  John  Wesley  in  the  most 
mellowed  season  of  his  life.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
they  evince  any  very  solid  increase  of  wisdom  ;  but  they 
manifest  an  enlarged  range  of  Christian  philanthropy,  un- 
fettered by  any  harsh  dogma,  and  unclouded  by  any  gloomy 
feeling.  They  have,  beside,  every  where,  that  transparen- 
cy of  character  which  makes  us  see,  as  it  were,  the  very 
mind  and  heart  of  the  writer,  and  leaves  no  possibility  of 
questioning  his  *'  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity." 

In  estimating  John  Wesley,  I  am  not  conscious  of  par- 
tiality. For  his  singularities,  as  a  public  teacher,  I  had 
no  predilection.  I  loved  and  revered  him  for  his  cheerful 
piety,  his  resistless  amiability,  and  his  perfect  superiority 
to  every  vulgar  feeling  and  selfish  motive.  But  I  was  not 
blind  to  his  weaknesses,  nor  to  the  important  defects  and 
liabilities  of  his  reHgious  system.  Still,  the  more  deeply 
I  have  reflected,  the  more  disposed  have  I  been  to  regard 
him  as  an  instrument  of  Providence  for  most  valuable  pur- 
poses ;  and,  whatever  may  have  been  his  misconceptions 
in  intellect,  or  his  errors  in  conduct,  my  conviction  is  that 
he  never  consciously  swerved  from  what  he  considered  his 
"  heavenly  calling." 

Tn  fact,  Mr.  Wesley's  practical  principles  had  ever  been 
such  as  to  insure  perfect  moral  consistency.    From  his 

p* 


346 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


first  years  of  serious  reflection,  his  standard  of  Christian 
virtue  was  pure  and  exalted.  He  formed  his  views  in  the 
school  of  the  Greek  fathers,  and  in  that  of  their  closest 
modern  followers,  the  Platonic  divines  of  the  Church  of 
England.  These  studies  did  not  rest  in  speculation  :  it 
was  impossible  that  such  studies  should  be  merely  specu- 
lative. The  ardor  of  Mr.  Wesley's  soul  was  fired  by  the 
spirit  which  he  thus  inhaled  ;  and  to  realize  in  himself 
the  perfect  Christian  of  Clemens  Alexandrinus  was  the 
object  of  his  heart.  The  attachment  which  he  then  con- 
ceived to  Taylor,  Smith,  Cudworth,  Worthington,  and 
Lucas,  retained  all  its  cordiality  to.  the  last  hour  of  his 
life. 

The  subsequent  singularities  of  his  course  implied  no 
kind  of  departure  from  those  high  aspirings.  The  former, 
on  the  contrary,  were  the  result  of  the  latter,  in  a  mind 
peculiarly  eager  and  impatient  of  delay.  It  was  in^the 
hope  of  raising  himself  to  that  coveted  pitch  of  Christian 
rectitude,  that  he  adopted  the  ascetic  rigidness  of  Mr. 
Law,  and  that  he  devoted  himself  to  General  Oglethorpe's 
projected  Indian  mission.  His  ill  success  in  self-discipline, 
during  that  season  of  trial,  humbled  him  almost  to  de- 
spondency, and  predisposed  him  for  listening  to  the  new 
lessons  of  Peter  Boehler.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  the 
dogma,  common  to  Lutherans  and  Calvinists,  respecting 
justification  by  faith,  took  hold  of  his  mind.  But  it  is  to 
be  remarked  that  he  embraced  this  tenet  in  a  way  of  his 
own.  In  the  usual  representations  of  modern  theology, 
justification  means  a  change  in  external  relation  to  God, 
rather  than  in  moral  dispositions  and  feelings.  It  is  stated 
to  be  acceptance  with  God,  for  the  sake  of  his  Son,  inde- 
pendent of  moral  qualification  in  the  subject.  John  Wes- 
ley also  maintained,  that  the  blessing  of  justification  was 
strictly  gratuitous  ;  and  that  it  was  conferred  in  answer  to 
earnest  and  persevering  prayer  :  but  his  notion  of  the  thing 
conferred  was  modified  by  his  own  antecedent  and  still 
predominant  views.  He  regarded  justification  neither 
merely  nor  chiefly  as  a  forensic  acquittal  in  the  court  of 
heaven  ;  but  as  implying  also  a  ronscious  liberation  from 
moral  thraldom.  It  will,  in  fact,  be  seen,  in  all  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's statements  on  the  subject,  that  it  was  the  moral  lib- 
eration on  which  he  relied  as  the  true  criterion  of  the 
justified  state.  "  Herein,"  said  he,  as  Mr.  Southey  has 
quoted  him,    I  found  the  difference  between  this  and  my 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


347 


former  state  chiefly  consisted  :  I  was  striving,  yea,  fighting, 
with  all  my  might  under  the  law,  as  well  as  under  grace ; 
but  then,  I  was  sometimes,  if  not  often,  conquered ;  now,  I 
was  always  conqueror." 

Thus  in  the  very  moment  of  his  highest  excitation,  Mr. 
Wesley  estimates  evangelic  blessings  on  moral  grounds, 
and  tries  himself  exclusively  by  a. moral  standard.  I  con- 
fidently add,  that  in  all  the  peculiarities  of  his  subsequent 
course,  he  never  swerved  from  this  principle  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  became  more  and  more  jealous  of  every  opinion 
which  could  be  thought  to  favor  religious  confidence,  with- 
out the  constant  testimony  of  a  good  conscience.  The 
doctrinal  theories  which  he  had  embraced,  and  which  he, 
at  length,  began  to  suspect  of  an  *•  Antinomian  leaning," 
were  either  renounced  or  corrected ;  and  purity  of  heart 
and  life,  through  the  grace  of  Christ  and  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  it  had  been  ever  his  ruling  object,  be- 
came at  length  the  single  matter  to  which  he  attached  vital 
importance. 

But,  as  I  said,  at  no  period  was  there  an  abatement  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  original  moral  intensity.  In  his  Appeal  we 
find  him  rejecting  "  the  vulgar  notion  of  salvation  being 
barely  deliverance  from  hell,  or  going  to  heaven and 
maintaining  that  it  is  "  a  present  deliverance  from  sin  ;  a 
restoration  of  the  soul  to  its  primitive  health,  its  original 
purity ;  a  recovery  of  the  Divine  nature  ;  the  renewal  of 
our  souls  after  the  image  of  God.  This  implies,"  he  adds, 
"  all  holy  and  heavenly  tempers  ;  and,  by  consequence,  all 
holiness  of  conversation."  And,  in  one  of  his  earlier  ser- 
mons, he  exhorts  his  disciples  to  "  abhor  sin  far  more  than 
death  or  hell ;"  to  "  abhor  sin  itself  far  more  than  the  pun- 
ishment of  it." 

The  truth  is,  that  John  Wesley  considered  the  excel- 
lency of  Christianity  to  consist  in  its  delivering  the  human 
spirit  from  the  dominion  and  the  pollution  of  moral  evil ; 
and  thus  qualifying  and  disposing  it  for  the  moral  enjoy- 
ment of  God.  This  central  principle  of  Christian  philoso- 
phy he  embraced  for  himself,  and  urged  upon  others,  as 
essentially  and  infinitely  the  one  thing  needful.  His  moral 
Creed  was  comprehended  in  that  weightiest  and  most  pro- 
found oracle,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart ;  for  they 
shall  see  God."  St.  Augustine's  pregnant  aphorism, 
'*  Fecisti  nos  tibi  ;  et  cor  semper  irrequietum,  donee  requiescat 
in  ^e,"  was  adopted  by  him  in  all  its  fulness ;  nor  do  the 


348 


REMARKS   ON   THE   LIFE  AND 


winged  words  of  St.  Chrysostom  express  this  supreme 
truth  with  deeper  feeling,  or  more  strongly  attest  the 
pious  ardor  of  him  who  uttered  them,  than  passages  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  Mr.  Wesley's  later  sermons. 

It  is  this  moral  radiance,  that  so  often  breaks  forth  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  writings,  which  could  alone  compensate  an 
unprejudiced  reader  for  the  shallow  reasonings,  and  un- 
supported conclusions,  into  which  his  natural  temperament, 
his  favorite  theories,  and  his  peculiar  circumstances,  con- 
spired to  betray  him.  Still,  in  spite  of  these  repulsive 
features,  I  must  confess  for  myself  that  I  feel  inexpressible 
satisfaction  in  recurring  to  those  warm  and  bright  effusions 
of  moral  taste  and  spiritual  affection.  But  I  could  not  do 
so,  if  my  recollections  of  John  Wesley  himself  were  not 
in  complete  accordance  with  the  pure  practice  which  he 
inculcates,  and  "the  holy  loftiness  of  heart"  (to  use  an  ex- 
pression of  Archbishop  Leighton's)  which  he  is  ever  solicit- 
ous to  inspire. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  history  of  what  is  called  the 
religious  world  leaves  little  room  for  concluding  that  emi- 
nently zealous  men  must  therefore  be  immaculate.  Yet,  even 
had  I  no  personal  knowledge  of  Mr.  Wesley's  character, 
the  practical  principles  to  which  I  have  been  adverting 
would,  to  my  mind,  raise  him  far  above  the  reach  of  any 
discreditable  suspicion.  It  is  in  religionists  of  another  cast 
that  moral  inconsistences  have  shown  themselves.  A  faith 
which  does  not  regard  everlasting  safety  as  vitally  depend- 
ing on  present  purity,  though  in  general  its  practice  may 
be  much  better  than  its  theoiy,  is  httle  likely  to  lay  the 
ax  to  the  root  of  human  corruption  ;  and  may  not  always 
be  sufficiently  on  the  alert  to  repel  and  subdue  the  first 
motions  of  moral  evil.  But  that  one,  whose  entire  princi- 
ples indispensably  bound  him  to  pursue  purity  of  heart  and 
life,  and  made  the  substantive  possession  of  that  purity 
essential  to  his  daily  and  hourly  comfort, — that  such  a 
one,  I  say,  after  years  of  devotedness,  and  in  the  midst  of 
what  might  most  truly  be  called  a  life  of  sacrifice,  should, 
in  one  particular  instance,  depart  wickedly  from  his  course, 
and,  on  one  single  occasion,  give  che  lie  to  all  the  other 
actions  of  his  life,  all  the  words  of  his  mouth,  and  all  the 
vivid  issues  of  his  ever-profluent  heart,  would  be  against 
all  example,  and  beyond  all  credibility.  I  rest  assured 
that  any  such  moral  anomaly  would  be  sought  for  in  vain 
in  the  annals  of  the  Christian  world. 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


349 


But  something  much  stronger  than  any  general  argu- 
ment settles  my  conviction  of  John  "Wesley's  perfect  integ- 
rity :  I  mean  the  tranquil  and  satisfied  mind  with  which  I 
saw  him  resign  himself  to  the  rapid  sinking  of  his  frame, 
and  the  certain  approach  of  his  dissolution.  Mr.  Southey 
has  remarked,  with  his  usual  discernment  and  good  feeling, 
on  the  evidences  of  this  fact  which  have  come  before  him. 
Had  he  personally  witnessed  what  he  so  justly  conceived, 
he  would  have  needed  no  additional  proof  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley enjoyed  as  cloudless  a  mental  retrospect  as  could  con- 
sist with  mortality. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  closely  observing  him  for  some 
days  together,  in  the  last  year  but  one  of  his  life.  He  was, 
just  then,  after  a  wonderful  continuance  of  natural  strength, 
beginning  to  find  that  he  grew  old."  His  sight  was  much 
decayed,  and  he  himself  was  conscious  that  his  memory 
was  weakened,  though  it  did  not  yet  appear  in  his  conver- 
sation. Of  his  own  actual  feelings  under  these  increasing 
infirmities,  I  have  an  interesting  record,  in  a  letter  dated 
Dublin,  April  lUh,  1789,  written  soon  after  his  last  arrival 
in  Ireland,  and  notifying  his  intended  visit  to  the  place 
where  I  resided,  and  where  he  was  to  be  my  guest.  "  You 
see  in  the  public  papers,"  he  says,  *'  that  I  shall  be  with 
you,  if  God  permit,  on  the  30th  of  next  month.  If  I  should 
be  called  to  go  a  longer  journey  before  that  time,  I  hope 
you  would  be  able  to  say,  *  Good  is  the  will  of  the  Lord.' 
Every  time  we  meet,  it  is  less  and  less  probable  that  we 
should  meet  again  in  this  world  ;  but  it  is  enough  if  we 
are  counted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead." 

After  receiving  such  an  intimation  of  conscious  decline, 
I  was  delighted  to  find  his  cheerfulness  in  no  respect  abated. 
It  was  too  obvious  that  his  bodily  frame  was  sinking ;  but 
his  spirit  was  as  alert  as  ever  ;  and  he  was  little  less  the 
life  of  the  company  he  happened  to  be  in,  than  he  had  been 
three-and-twenty  years  before,  when  I  first  knew  him.  I 
had  some  motive  at  that  time  for  stating,  in  a  newspaper 
publication,  the  impression  which  his  manner  and  conver- 
sation then  particularly  made  upon  me.  This  sketch  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  Mr.  Henry  Moore,  his  first  biographer,  insert- 
ed, with  the  alteration  of  one  unimportant  word,  in  his  vol- 
ume ;  and  it  was  copied  both  by  Mr.  Hampson  and  Dr. 
Whitehead.  Of  what  I  then  said,  I  do  not,  after  the  reflec- 
tion of  so  many  years,  retract  an  iota.    Now,  as  then,  I 


350 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


feel  it  to  be  a  case  in  which  there  was  no  room  for  delu- 
sion. Such  unclouded  sunshine  of  the  breast,  in  the  deep- 
est winter  of  age,  and  on  the  felt  verge  of  eternity,  bespoke 
a  mind  whose  recollections  were  as  unsullied  as  its  present 
sensations  were  serene.  It  seemed  to  verify  to  the  letter 
those  weighty  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "Keep  innocency,  and 
take  heed  unto  the  thing  that  is  right,  for  that  shall  bring  a 
man  peace  at  the  last." 

With  this  latest  image  of  John  Wesley,  my  mind  could 
not  but  associate  all  that  I  had  seen  in  him,  or  heard  from 
him,  on  former  occasions  ;  as  well  as  those  perpetual  effu- 
sions of  purest  and  simplest  virtue  in  his  writings,  which, 
like  streams  from  a  fountain,  prove  the  nature  of  their 
source.  And  in  this  united  view,  I  seem  to  myself  to  pos- 
sess as  indisputable  evidence  of  Mr.  Wesley's  undeviating 
moral  consistency,  as  if  my  eye  had  followed  him  through 
every  stage  and  every  step  of  his  earthly  pilgrimage. 

And  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  he  has  himself  enabled 

us  virtually  to  exercise  this  very  kind  of  inspection.  His 

Journal  affords  such  an  entire  and  unreserved  memorial, 

not  only  of  his  indefatigabble  labors,  but  of  the  disposition 

and  temper  with  which  he  pursued  them,  as  makes  John 

Wesley  one  of  the  best  known  individuals  that  ever  acted 

on  the  stage  of  human  life.    While  I,  therefore,  from  my 

own  personal  knowledge  of  him,  feel  the  conviction  I  have 

expressed,  I  would  send  others  to  that  animated  but  most 

artless  registry,  to  try  if  they  can  find  a  point  of  time  in 

which  his  Christian  vigilance  appears  to  relax,  or  his  love 

of  virtue  to  become  less  intense  or  less  practical.    I  would 

ask,  is  there  one  darkened  hour,  which  might  be  thought 

to  indicate  some  secret  self-reproach  ;  or  an  intimation,  for 

the  last  fifty  years,  (to  say  nothing  of  his  earlier  strictness,) 

that  he  did  not  live  in  daily  peace  with  himself,  and  with 

his  God  ]    Is  he  not  uniformly  the  same  man, — devoted  to 

what  he  deemed  his  duty ;  ahke  regardless  of  privation  or 

endurance,  and  yet  beaming  with  happy  cheerfulness,  and 

glowing  with  unbounded  philanthropy  ?    I  would  say,  in  a 

word,  let  a  single  spot  be  shown  in  the  singularly-recorded 

course  of  John  Wesley's  thoughts  and  feelings,  as  well  as 

of  his  actions  and  habits,  where  suspicion  could  find  foot- 

inor,  or  calumny  insert  a  sting. 
°#*^*  *  *  *  * 

I  have  thus  obliged  my  conscience,  and  gratified  my 
deepest  feelings,  in  bearing  my  feeble  testimony  to  my 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


351 


ever  loved  and  venerated  friend.  I  could  willingly  have 
gone  further,  and  submitted  some  remarks  to  Mr.  Southey, 
on  particulars  respecting  which,  I  think,  had  he  known 
Mr.  Wesley  as  I  knew  him,  he  would  have  written  some- 
what differently  from  what  he  has  done  ;  and  have,  by  that 
means,  more  fully  accomplished  his  own  kind  and  liberal 
intentions.  I  can  not  express  the  value  which  I  attach  to 
Mr.  Southey's  Life  of  John  Wesley;  but,  in  certain  in- 
stances, I  could  wish  him  to  have  the  means  of  candid  re- 
consideration. I  refer  merely  to  matters  respecting  Mr. 
Wesley's  personal  character,  moral  and  religious.  But  I 
could  not  presume  to  state  what  has  occurred  to  me,  with- 
out Mr.  Southey's  permission ;  I  would  even  say,  his  de- 
sire that  I  should  do  so. 

I  am,  ray  dear  sir,  most  faithfully  yours, 

Alexander  Knox. 

Bellevue,  Delganny,  Oct.  8,  1825. 


As  Mr.  Southey  has  been  so  good  as  to  express  a  wish 
that  I  should  offer  such  remarks  as  have  occurred  to  me, 
in  reading  his  Life  of  John  Wesley,  I  gladly  avail  myself 
of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  me,  not  only  of  bearing 
testimony  to  the  virtues  of  my  old  excellent  friend,  but  also 
of  evincing  my  entire  confidence  in  Mr.  Southey's  candor, 
and  in  his  cordial  value  for  worth  of  character,  by  whatever 
human  infirmities  it  may  be  accompanied. 

I  could  not  enumerate  the  instances  in  which  I  was  grat- 
ified, and  sometimes  even  delighted,  at  the  justice  done  by 
Mr.  Southey  to  the  character  of  Mr.  Wesley's  mind,  and 
to  the  motives  of  his  singular  course  of  life.  But  I  have 
often  felt  the  strongest  persuasion  that  if  Mr.  Southey  had 
known  Mr.  Wesley  as  I  knew  him,  his  estimate  of  the 
feelings  which  actuated  and  modified  Mr.  Wesley's  extra- 
ordinary career,  would  have  somewhat  differed  from  that 
which  Mr.  Southey's  more  remote  view  of  his  subject  led 
him  naturally,  or  rather  necessarily,  to  form. 

Mr.  Southey,  not  having  had  an  opportunity  of  person- 
ally knowing  and  observing  Mr.  Wesley,  could  judge  of 
him  only  by  general  rules,  and  according  to  the  common 
movements  of  human  nature  :  and  I  freely  confess  that, 
accorrling  to  this  standard,  it  was  next  to  impossible  that 
Mr.  Wesley's  peculiarities  should  be  resolved  into  any 


352 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


Other  sources  than  those  which  the  history  of  human  nature 
shows  to  have  so  often  produced  results  of  an  apparently 
similar  kind. 

I  accordingly  do  not  wonder  that  Mr.  Southey  should 
have  ascribed  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct,  in  certain  remarkable 
conjunctures  of  his  life,  to  a  restless  spirit,  '*  an  ambitious 
temper,  and  a  pride  of  heart,  which  could  not  have  been 
contented  with  holding  a  secondary  place;"  nor,  indeed,  do 
I  see  how  a  distant  observer  could  otherwise  account  for 
Mr.  Wesley's  apparent  choice  of  enterprise,  his  uncompro- 
mising resistance  of  his  antagonists,  and  his  yielding  reten- 
tion of  the  power  which  he  had  acquired,  until  the  last  mo- 
ment of  his  life. 

I  may  venture  to  say  that  neither  these,  nor  any  other 
particulars  in  Mr.  Wesley's  character  and  conduct,  on  which 
Mr.  Southey  animadverts,  escaped  my  attention  ;  and  not 
even  at  the  time,  much  less  at  this  distant  period,  could  I 
suspect  myself  of  regarding  them  with  undue  partiality. 
Having  no  more  sympathy  with  Mr.  Wesley  in  his  decided 
peculiarities  than  (I  might  almost  say)  Mr.  Southey  him- 
self, I  was  not  liable  to  be  seduced  into  an  over  favorable 
judgment  of  the  motives,  for  the  sake  of  the  consequences. 
Still,  however,  I  must  declare,  that  the  slightest  suspicion 
of  pride,  ambition,  selfishness,  in  any  shape  or  form,  or  per- 
sonal gratification  of  whatever  kind,  stimulating  Mr.  Wes- 
ley in  any  instance,  or  mixing  in  any  measure  with  the 
movements  of  his  life,  never  once  entered  into  my  mind. 
That  such  charges  were  made  by  his  opponents,  I  could 
not  be  ignorant.  But  my  deep  impression  was,  and  it  cer- 
tainly remains  unimpaired,  that  since  the  days  of  the  Apos- 
tles there  has  not  been  a  human  being  more  thoroughly 
exempt  from  all  those  frailties  of  human  nature  than  John 
Wesley. 

In  fact  it  has  been  my  settled  conviction  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley was  intentionally  solicitous  for  nothing  but  the  Bonum 
and  the  Verum,  in  the  highest  sense  of  these  terms  ;  and 
had  his  conceptions  of  the  latter  been  as  sober  as  his  ap- 
prehensions of  the  former  were  sublime,  he  would  have 
ranked  with  the  first  names  in  the  modern  history  of  the 
Church.  But  with  a  heart  as  upright  as  mere  mortal  could 
possess,  he  had  an  intellectual  frame  of  singular  construc- 
tion. Hence,  and  not  in  any  measure  from  his  moral  na- 
ture, proceeded  the  fervor,  the  energy,  the  prompt  decision, 
with  which  he  resisted  an  adversary,  surmounted  an  obsta- 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


353 


cle,  or  accomplished  an  object.  And  hence,  too,  arose 
several  weaknesses  which  have  thrown  a  shade  over  his 
better  qualities.  Thus  his  habits  of  reflection  bore  no  pro- 
portion to  his  quickness  of  apprehension ;  nor  could  he 
endure  delay  either  in  reasoning  or  in  acting.  From  un- 
certain and  scanty  premises,  he  rapidly  formed  the  most 
confident  and  comprehensive  conclusions,  mistaking  logic 
for  philosophy  in  matters  of  theory,  and  appearances  for 
realities  in  matters  of  fact  and  experience. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  if  such  was  the  character  of  John 
Wesley's  mind,  how  was  he  competent  to  form  a  religious 
polity  so  compact,  effective,  and  permanent  1  I  can  only 
express  my  firm  conviction  that  he  was  totally  incapable 

preconceiving  such  a  scheme.  This  would  have  implied 
an  exercise  of  forethought  and  politic  contrivance,  than 
which  nothing  could  be  more  opposite  to  his  whole  mental 
constitution.  Beside,  from  the  specimens  which  I  myself 
have  had  of  his  proceedings,  I  can  even  stake  my  veracity, 
that  the  account  which  he  gives,  on  different  occasions,  of 
his  adopting  measures  simply  as  they  were  required  by 
successive  emergences,  is  unqualified  and  unimpeachable 
truth. 

That  he  had  uncommon  acuteness  in  fitting  expedients 
to  conjunctures,  is  most  certain  :  this,  in  fact,  was  his  great 
talent.  But  in  exerting  this  faculty,  he  was  unspeakably 
aided  by  the  intentional  rectitude  of  his  leading  purpose. 
To  train  as  many  persons  as  he  could  influence  to  habitual 
and  elevated  piety,  by  a  settled  plan  of  methodical,  social, 
and  anti-secular  devotion,  was  his  uniform  and  exclusive 
object.  In  this  pursuit,  none  other  than  morally  innocent 
means  could  be  thought  of ;  and  while  he  chose  them  not 
only  with  that  honesty  which  is  the  best  policy,  but  with 
uncommon  instinctive  sagacity,  his  constitutional  energy 
supported  his  religious  zeal  in  caiTying  them  into  steady 
and  systematical  practice. 

Thus  it  is  that  my  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's mind  and  habits  obliges  me  to  account  for  the  origin 
and  growth  of  the  religious  society  which  bears  his  name : 
but  it  must  be  added,  as  Mr.  Southey  has  not  failed  to  re- 
mark, that  Mr.  Wesley  was  much  aided  by  his  previous 
acquaintance  with  the  religious  practices  of  the  TJnitas 
Fratrum :  and  also,  that  which  appeared  opportune  acci- 
dent, led  sometimes  to  the  adoption  of  his  more  successful 
measures.    It  is  no  less  certain,  that  when  Mr.  Wesley's 


354 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AXD 


system  had  grown  into  form,  his  mind  was  as  much  fitted 
to  sustain  it,  as  it  would  have  been  incapable  of  previously 
devising  it.  Steadiness  to  his  purpose  marked  all  his 
movements  :  nor  could  practical  eccentricity  ever  be  im- 
puted to  him. 

That  Mr.  Wesley's  natural  feelings  were  gratified  by 
the  progress  of  his  Society  can  not  be  questioned ;  nor 
that,  with  the  partiality  of  a  parent,  he  was  liable  to  pal- 
liate its  imperfections,  and  to  over-estimate  its  good  effects. 
I  grant,  too,  that  in  governing  the  body  which  he  had 
formed,  he  experienced  much  of  that  pleasure  which  every 
one  feels  in  exercising  those  talents  wherein  he  excels. 
But  I  am  persuaded  that  these  necessary  and  useful  move- 
ments of  our  nature  never  existed  in  any  mere  human  be- 
ing with  less  alloy  of  selfishness  than  in  John  Wesley.  It  is 
tme  that  he  appeared  unwilling,  even  to  the  last,  to  part  with 
the  power  which  had  grown  up  in  his  hands,  or  to  suffer 
others  to  share  in  it.  But  I  affirm  with  confidence,  that  it  was 
not  love  of  power  which  made  him  thus  tenacious  of  it.  I 
am  assured  that,  for  his  own  sake,  he  no  more  valued  it  than 
the  earth  on  which  he  trod.  But  he  regarded  it  as  a  prov- 
idential deposit,  which  he  had  not  a  right  to  part  with.  He 
knew  that  none  of  those  around  him  were  fit  to  be  his  co- 
adjutors, and  that  so  long  as  he  could  hold  his  place,  the 
welfare  of  his  Society  required  that  he  should  hold  it  alone. 
Could  he  have  adhered  to  this  principle  as  much  in  reality 
as  in  profession,  it  might  have  been  happier  for  his  people, 
as  well  as  for  himself.  But  that  he  was  not  actuated  by 
any  vulgar  ambition,  is  evinced  by  a  fact  which  has  not 
escaped  Mr.  Southey's  observation ;  namely,  that  when 
the  state  of  Methodism  was  such  as  to  have  afforded  most 
gratification  to  selfish  feelings,  then  it  was  that  its  founder 
felt  deepest  dissatisfaction,  and  complained  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  soul,  that  the  results  which  he  had  fondly  reck- 
oned on,  were  lamentably  unaccomplished. 

I  am  sure  I  need  not  point  out  the  passages  in  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's latest  sermons  which  contain  those  complaints,  and 
which  sometimes  bespeak  an  anguish  of  heart  too  intense 
for  utterance.  I  have  always  felt  their  importance,  as  Mr. 
Wesley's  own  deliberate  testimony  to  the  imperfoctness  of 
his  system  ;  but  I  can  not  help  also  inferring  from  them 
the  simplicity  of  his  own  heart,  and  the  unmixed  integrity 
of  all  his  purposes.  His  success  in  forming  a  religious 
body,  taken  in  all  its  circumstances,  had  scarcely  a  parallel 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


355 


in  the  Christian  world ;  yet  he  grieves  inexpressibly  on 
this  single  account,  that  when  he  expected  the  "  vineyard 
to  bring  forth  grapes,  it  brought  forth  wild  grapes."  He 
well  knew  also,  that,  in  uttering  and  recording  these  feel- 
ings, he  was  putting  the  candor  of  his  people  to  the  severest 
test,  and,  of  course,  hazarding  his  influence  over  them  ;  yet 
no  such  apprehension  is  allowed  even  to  soften  his  deep- 
toned  expostulations.  I  ask,  would  this  have  been  the  case 
if  the  pleasure  of  dominion,  or  if  selfish  gratification  in  any 
shape  or  form  had  mingled,  however  partially,  with  his 
motives,  or  possessed  any  place  whatever  in  his  heart  1 

I  may  further  remark,  that  the  prevalent  tempers  and 
habits  of  Mr.  Wesley's  mind  appear  to  have  been  perfectly 
inconsistent  with  ambitious  feelings.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  a  man  who  aimed  at  self-aggrandizement  should  not  be 
sometimes  chagrined ;  that  he  should  not  be  disturbed  by 
opposition,  annoyed  by  disappointments,  or  occasionally 
feel  anxiety  for  the  success  of  measures.  But,  probably, 
there  never  was  a  human  being  less  accessible  to  care,  of 
whatever  kind,  than  John  Wesley  :  sensible  as  he  was  both 
to  pleasure  and  pain,  and  intensely  as  he  desired  the  hap- 
piness of  his  disciples,  still  the  impression  made  on  him  by 
adverse  occurrences,  though  no  doubt  often  sharp,  was  al- 
ways transient.  Be  the  exigence  what  it  might,  after 
adopting  what  appeared  the  best  measures,  he  dismissed  it 
from  his  thoughts.  This  happy  faculty  secured  to  him, 
through  his  long  life,  unbroken  rest  by  night,  and  unclouded 
cheerfulness  in  the  day  :  but  it  was  a  faculty  which,  I  con- 
ceive, he  could  not  have  possessed,  had  not  his  views  been 
perfectly  pure  and  disinterested.  The  emotions  of  a  gen- 
erous and  upright  heart,  however  strong,  imply  no  thral- 
dom ;  but  as  soon  as  the  feeling  becomes  selfish,  the  power 
of  surmounting  it  is  proportionally  lost.  I  should  think 
this  is  a  fair  test ;  and  if  so,  the  mind  of  John  Wesley 
stands  acquitted  from  every  suspicion  of  selfishness  :  for 
certain  it  is,  that  as  far  as  could  consist  with  mortality,  his 
life  was  a  course  of  constant  self-possession,  and  uninter- 
rupted self-enjoyment;  the  past  being  unreservedly  com- 
mitted to  God's  gracious  reckoning,  and  the  future  no  less 
simply  left  to  his  unerring  providence. 

Another  charge  against  Mr.  Wesley,  I  can  not  equally 
dispute,  namely,  that  of  enthusiasm.  Still  he  was  an  en- 
thusiast of  no  vulgar  kind  :  as  Nelson  was  an  enthusiast  for 
his  country,  so  was  John  Wesley  for  religion.    Where  the 


358 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


highest  interests  of  man  were  concerned,  Mr.  Wesley  made 
no  account  of  precedent,  or  public  opinion,  or  maxims  of 
human  or  even  of  ecclesiastical  prudence.  The  Church  of 
England  appeared  to  him  to  have  fallen  into  a  state  of  stu- 
por like  that  of  the  ancient  Jewish  Church ;  and  it  was 
his  persuasion  that  a  kind  of  second  John  the  Baptist,  a 
"  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,"  was  necessary  to 
awaken  it :  to  this  duty  he  conceived  himself  providentially 
called,  and  he  engaged  in  it  with  as  firm  a  purpose,  as  if 
he  had  been  commissioned  by  a  voice  from  heaven.  But 
in  this  material  respect  John  Wesley  differed  from  all  vul- 
gar enthusiasts — that  he  did  not  imagine  any  such  voice, 
nor  had  he  the  slightest  thought  of  either  impulse  or  inri- 
mation  from  above.  Singular  as  his  course  was,  he  no 
more  supposed  himself  raised  above  the  guidance  of  his 
reason  than  of  his  conscience ;  but  the  premises  from 
which  he  reasoned  frequently  derived  so  much  of  their 
shape  and  color  from  the  abstracted  view  which  he  took 
of  them,  and  the  sanguine  spirit  in  which  he  regarded 
them,  as  to  produce  results  differing  perhaps  little,  in  ap- 
pearance, from  those  of  strict  and  proper  fanaticism  ;  while, 
in  reality,  they  were  only  the  regular  workings  of  his  pecu- 
liarly formed  and,  at  the  same  time,  religiously  devoted 
mind.  As  this  remark  applies  especially  to  the  earlier 
stages  of  his  career,  so,  I  conceive,  its  truth  is  supported 
by  the  manner  in  which  experience  and  reflection  led  him, 
in  some  important  instances,  to  acknowledge  the  excess, 
and  to  correct  the  severity,  of  his  former  doctrinal  con- 
ceptions. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  asked  whether  the  revolution  which 
Mr.  Wesley  describes  as  having  taken  place  in  his  mind 
at  the  Society  in  Aldersgate-street,  on  the  24th  of  May, 
1738,  does  not  fix  a  charge  of  enthusiasm  both  on  his  men- 
tal character  and  on  all  his  subsequent  plans  of  conduct? 
I  should  be  obliged  to  answer  that,  if  that  occurrence  justi- 
fied such  a  charge,  several  of  the  most  eminent  persons  in 
the  Christian  world  must  equally  be  deemed  enthusiasts  : 
for  example,  St.  Cyprian  and  St.  Augustin,  in  former  times, 
and  in  times  nearer  our  own,  George  Herbert,  Robert 
Boyle,  and  Bishop  Ken.  This  last-mentioned  ornament 
of  our  Church  has  told  his  own  story,  in  a  poem  on  the 
Divine  Attribute  of  Truth  :  I  could  wish  Mr.  Southey  to 
turn  to  it,  and  to  judge  whether  it  is  not  in  substance  the 
very  counterpart  of  John  Wesley's  statement.    I  must  re- 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


357 


peat,  however,  that  I  dispute  the  enthusiasm  of  John  Wes- 
ley's mind  only  in  the  gross  and  palpable  sense  of  the  term  ; 
nor  can  I  say,  that  it  was  through  dislike  of  strict  and  prop- 
er enthusiasm  that  he  escaped  its  influence;  I  even  think 
he  would  have  been  an  enthusiast  if  he  could.  He  was 
always  gratified  by  hearing  or  reading  of  illapses,  or  rap- 
tures, or  supposed  extraordinary  manifestations,  when  he 
was  assured  of  the  moral  rectitude  of  the  party  ;  and,  in 
his  letters  to  his  female  correspondents,  we  find  him  some- 
times as  anxious  to  know  all  the  particulars  of  what  passed 
in  their  minds,  as  if  each  daily  or  hourly  vicissitude  of  feel- 
ing bore  a  stamp  of  divine  operation.  But  while  he  thus 
deHghted  in  the  soarings  of  others,  he  himself  could  not 
follow  them  in  their  flights ;  there  was  a  firmness  in  his  in- 
tellectual texture  which  would  not  bend  to  illusion.  It 
was  easy  to  deceive  his  reasoning  faculty,  but  there  was  a 
soundness  in  his  imagination  which  preserved  him,  person- 
ally, from  all  contagion  of  actual  fanaticism.  His  zealous 
maintenance  of  what  he  called  *'  the  witness  of  the  Spirit," 
especially  in  the  former  part  of  his  course,  is  notorious ; 
and  yet  it  appears  he  did  not  himself  profess  to  have  attain- 
ed it.  **  By  your  own  confession,"  says  Whitefield,  in  a 
letter  quoted  by  Mr.  Southey,  "  you  have  not  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit  within  yourself.  I  am  assured  God  has  given 
me  that  living  witness  in  my  soul."  But  why  had  not  John 
Wesley  that  inward  impression  as  well  as  Whitefield,  when 
he  equally  believed  it  to  be  attainable  ]  Was  it  not,  sim- 
ply, because,  from  the  native  tone  of  his  mind,  he  was  less 
susceptible  of  illusive  persuasions  1 

It  is  remarkable  that  others,  beside  John  Wesley,  have 
had  a  value  for  those  seemingly  extraordinary  sensations  in 
the  minds  of  others  of  which  they  had  no  consciousness  in 
their  own.  Nicole  says,  on  this  subject :  "  J'estime  beau- 
coup  ces  sortes  d'histoires,  quand  elles  viennent  par  le  ca- 
nal d'un  homme  sincere  et  intelligent,  et  qui  ne  fait  pas  une 
vertu  d'une  credulite  indiscrete.  II  me  semble  que  ce  sont 
des  nouvelles  de  I'autre  monde  qui  servent  a  detacher  de 
celui-ci."  The  same  estimation  of  those  mental  phenome- 
na, without  the  same  guards,  rather,  indeed,  with  as  much 
credulity  as  could  occupy  a  mind  not  physically  insane,  be- 
trayed Mr.  Wesley,  I  conceive,  into  some  of  the  weakest 
parts  of  his  conduct. 

Respecting  those  instances  which  are  chargeable  with 
inconsistency,  it  will  be  necessary  to  advert  to  another  of 


358 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


Mr.  Wesley's  liabilities ;  namely,  his  tendency  to  yield 
himself  to  those  who,  with  or  without  just  claims,  had  ob- 
tained his  confidence.  He  was  apt  to  conceive  strong 
attachments  ;  and  they  who  were  thus  distinguished  by  him 
did  not  always  appear  to  impartial  persons  as  worthy  of 
that  preference.  To  Mr.  C.  Wesley  those  predilections  of 
his  brother  were  often  annoying.  "  Are  you  one  of  my 
brother's  favorites  ]"  said  he  to  a  worthy  person  who  was 
at  that  time  Mr.  Wesley's  traveling  companion  ;  and,  on  his 
frankly  confessing  that  he  was  not,  Mr.  C.  Wesley  replied, 
"  I  do  not  like  you  the  worse  for  that,"  There  was,  in 
fact,  no  concealment  on  this  point  between  the  brothers. 
In  a  letter  to  me,  in  1780,  Mr.  Wesley  refers  to  those  dif- 
ferences of  liking  :  "  My  brother,"  says  he,  "  laughs  at  me, 
and  says,  *  Nay,  it  signifies  nothing  to  tell  you  any  thing, 
for  whomever  you  once  love,  you  will  love  on  through 
thick  and  thin.'  "  This  habit,  however,  was  of  much  less 
consequence  while  Mr.  Wesley's  natural  strength  of  mind 
remained  unimpaired  ;  but  when  advancing  years  made 
him  not  less  infirm  of  purpose  than  of  frame,  the  ascenden- 
cy of  those  to  whom  he  was  partial  could  not  fail  to  mislead 
him,  when  they  were  induced  by  their  own  views  to  exert 
a  waiting  influence. 

Mr.  Southey  well  knows  that,  during  the  last  seven  years 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  life,  several  circumstances  concurred  to 
favor  the  attempts  which  were  made  by  some  of  his  preach- 
ers to  draw  him  from  his  allegiance  to  the  Established 
Church ;  and  I  presume  it  can  hardly  be  matter  of  ques- 
tion that  strong  urgency  must  have  been  used  to  effect  that 
purpose  in  the  particular  instance  of  ordination.  Still, 
however,  Mr.  Southey  seems  to  suppose  (and  I  do  not,  by 
any  means,  wonder  at  such  an  impression  being  made)  that 
Mr.  Wesley's  own  inclination  seconded  the  views  of  his 
advisers  ;  and  that,  on  the  whole,  his  measures  had  at  least 
as  much  in  them  of  premeditated  design  as  of  misled  imbe- 
cility. I,  however,  who  attended  to  those  occurrences  at 
the  time  with  painful  interest,  and  who  have  had  some  op- 
portunity of  informing  myself  respecting  the  secret  springs 
of  action,  can  not  but  express  my  conviction  that  in  those 
last  transactions  of  Mr.  Wesley's  life  he  was  infinitely  more 
"sinned  against  than  sinning;"  and  that  while  it  is  impos- 
sible to  acquit  him  of  lamentable  inconsistency,  he  was 
utterly  unconscious  of  artifice  or  duplicity. 

Nothing,  surely,  could  have  evinced  pure  weakness  of 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


359 


mind  more  clearly  than  the  strange  business  of  making  Dr. 
Coke  a  bishop.  That  Dr.  C.  urged  Mr.  Wesley  to  this 
proceeding,  I  know  with  certainty  from  the  doctor  himself; 
and  full  acquaintance  with  this  well-meaning,  but  very  in- 
considerate, man  makes  me  feel  that  Mr.  Wesley  could 
scarcely  have  had  a  more  unfortunate  adviser.  The  argu- 
ment by  which  Mr.  Wesley  brought  himself  to  comply  with 
Dr.  C.'s  wish  is  itself  an  evidence  that  his  reasoning  faculty 
had  greatly  failed.  I  need  not  point  out  his  childish  mis- 
apprehension of  the  case  in  question,  as  it  has  been  noticed 
and  justly  remarked  upon  by  Mr.  Southey.  At  the  same 
time,  I  do  not  wonder  that  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct  in  this 
instance  should  be  thought  to  bespeak  the  duplicity  rather 
than  the  infirmity  of  his  mind,  and  that  Mr.  Southey  should 
accordingly  suppose  Dr.  Coke's  express  assumption  of  the 
episcopate  in  America  to  have  called  forth  only  "  a  sem- 
blance of  displeasure  from  Mr.  Wesley,  merely  intended  to 
save  appearances ;"  and  yet  would  fain  hope  that,  if  Mr. 
Southey  will  take  the  trouble  of  referring  to  the  lately  pub- 
lished edition  of  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,  from  the  335th 
to  the  345th  page  of  the  second  volume,  and  particularly 
the  letter  to  Mr.  Asbury,  he  will  see  that  Mr.  Wesley's 
displeasure,  however  inconsistent,  was  not  feigned,  but 
actually  and  strongly  felt  by  him. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  Mr.  Southey  to  condemn  the 
measures  into  which  Mr.  Wesley  was  betrayed  more  cor- 
dially than  I  did  at  the  time,  and  continue  to  do  to  the 
present  moment.  But  the  question  most  important  to  Mr. 
Wesley's  moral  character  is,  whether  he  was  led  captive  by 
the  solicitations  of  others,  acting  upon  the  assailable  points 
of  his  then  debilitated  mind,  or  whether,  from  an  ambitious 
desire  to  consolidate  his  community,  and  perpetuate  his 
name,  he  was  induced  to  sink  the  long-maintained  charac- 
ter of  an  evangelist  in  that  of  a  wily  and  sinuous  politician. 

This  latter  supposition  Mr.  Southey  has  felt  himself 
obliged,  I  am  sure  most  reluctantly,  to  entertain.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  semblance  of  displeasure  already  referred  to, 
Mr.  Southey  remarks  that  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct  upon 
this  point  was  neither  consistent  nor  ingenuous and  he 
says  still  more  strongly  that,  however  dexterous  he  had 
been  in  saving  "  himself  from  any  sacrifice  of  pride,  he 
was  not  always  so  successful  on  the  score  of  principle ;  for 
his  attachment  to  the  Church  was  sacrificed  to  the  desire 
of  extending  and  preserving  his  power." 


380 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


That  such,  to  every  appearance,  is  the  natural  construc- 
tion of  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct,  I  regret  to  acknowledge  ; 
and  nothing  short  of  my  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  my  actual  attention  at  the  time  to  the  trans- 
actions in  question,  would  authorize  me  to  dispute  its  just- 
ness. Mr.  Southey  has  fully  shown  his  disposition  to  judge 
of  Mr.  Wesley,  not  only  candidly,  but  kindly ;  I  therefore 
venture  to  submit  to  Mr.  Southey,  whether  the  allegations 
just  quoted  can,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  imputable,  if 
the  testimony  I  have  borne  to  John  Wesley's  general  char- 
acter in  the  preceding  paragraphs  be  founded.  But  I  am 
glad  to  think  that  I  am  not  obliged  to  rest  my  vindication 
of  his  intentional  rectitude  merely  on  probable  evidence. 
There  are  circumstances  connected  with  the  case  itself 
which  may,  and  in  some  instances,  I  think,  must,  have 
escaped  Mr.  Southey's  observation,  but  which,  I  trust, 
when  considered,  will  be  found  to  dispel  every  suspicion 
of  duplicity,  as  implying  a  mode  of  conduct  which  could 
not  consist  with  artifice,  and  only  bespoke  the  most  painful 
and  pitiable  vacillation. 

Before  adverting  to  those  particulars,  I  would  observe, 
that  in  one  of  my  first  interviews  with  Mr.  Wesley,  after 
the  occurrences  in  question,  I  thought  it  right  to  disclose 
to  him  my  whole  mind  upon  the  subject ;  and  from  the 
manner  in  which  he  heard  me,  and  from  what  he  said  in 
i-eply,  I  saw  clearly  that  he  felt  himself  in  a  vortex  of  dif- 
ficulties, and  that,  in  the  steps  he  had  taken,  the  yielding 
to  what  he  thought  pressing  exigences,  he  nevertheless 
had  done  violence  to  undissembled  and  rooted  feeling.  I 
had  been  long  aware  that  two  dissonant  principles  wrought 
in  Mr.  Wesley's  mind  ;  that  he  was  unfeignedly  attached 
to  the  Church  of  England,  but  that  he  was  more  sensitively 
and  practically  united  to  his  own  Society  ;  not,  I  was  per- 
suaded, because  it  was  his  own  Society,  but  because  he 
overrated  its  value,  and  had  an  extravagant  notion  of  its 
providential  destination.  "  Accordingly,  in  his  well-known 
"  Reasons  against  Separation,"  though  they  were  stated 
with  clearness,  and  urged  with  all  his  accustomed  energy, 
he  concludes  with  asserting  only  the  inexpediency  of  such  a 
measure ;  while  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  in  adding  his  signa- 
ture, recorded  also  his  conviction  that  a  separation  of  the 
Methodists  from  the  Church  of  England  was  unlawful  as 
well  as  inexpedient.  Mr.  Southey  is  well  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  unshaken  consistency.    But  this 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


361 


early  difference  between  the  brothers  seems  somewhat  to 
qualify  Mr.  John  Wesley's  eventual  inconsistency,  and, 
in  point  of  fact,  to  shelter  him  from  the  charge  of  dissimu- 
lation. 

I  need  scarcely  say  that  it  is  only  in  what  regards  moral 
feeling  that  I  am  anxious  John  Wesley  should  stand  acquit- 
ted. His  affection  for  the  Church  of  England,  I  have 
every  reason  to  know,  was  unfeigned  and  cordial  ;  and  yet 
I  believe  that  if,  at  any  time  after  the  formation  of  his 
Society,  he  had  been  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  being 
expelled  from  the  Church,  or  of  relinquishing  his  system, 
he  would  have  suffered  the  former,  rather  than  resolve 
upon  the  latter ;  simply  because  he  conceived  that  the 
spiritual  benefits  conferred  on  individuals,  by  means  of  his 
Society,  were  too  deep  and  too  extensive  to  allow  that  he 
should  abandon  it.  And  yet  so  much  did  he  deprecate  a 
gi'atuitous  separation,  that  when,  some  years  before  his 
death,  I  asked  him,  in  a  private  conversation,  how  he 
should  wish  his  friends  to  act  in  case  of  the  Methodists 
withdrawing  from  the  Established  Church,  his  answer  was, 
I  would  have  them  adhere  to  the  Church,  and  leave  the 
Methodists. 

It  is  on  the  proofs  which  Mr.  Wesley  gave  to  the  last  of 
this  same  feeling  every  now  and  then  recovering  its  ascend- 
ency, even  after  he  had  yielded,  and,  strange  to  think,  was 
occasionally  still  yielding,  to  contrarious  counsels,  that  I 
ground  my  exculpation  of  him  from  intentional  duplicity. 
I  submit  the  particular  instances  to  Mr.  Southey's  con- 
sideration :  he  will  judge  whether  they  do  not  give  evi- 
dence of  a  mind  at  distressing  variance  with  itself,  and  as 
incapable  of  forming  any  politic  design  for  its  own  pur- 
pose, as  of  detecting  the  representations  of  interested  or 
prejudiced  advisers. 

The  first  remarkable  instance  of  the  kind  to  which  I 
allude,  occurred  more  than  two  years  after  his  first  ordina- 
tion for  America.  A  spirit  of  decided  dissent  broke  out 
at  Deptford,  and  Mr.  Wesley  was  urged  to  allow  the 
Methodists  there  to  hold  their  Sunday  service  at  church 
hours.  But  he  refused  compliance,  on  the  ground  (Jour- 
nal, 1st  edit.,  Sept.  24,  1786)  that  "  this  would  be  a  formal 
separation  from  the  Church."  "  To  fix"  (our  service),  he 
adds,  '*  at  the  same  hour,  is  obliging  them  to  separate, 
either  from  the  Church  or  us  ;  and  this  I  judge  to  be  not 
only  inexpedient,  but  totally  unlawful  for  me  to  do."  This 

VOL.  II. — Q 


362 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


remonstrance,  however,  had  but  a  transient  effect ;  for,  on 
the  2d  of  January  following,  his  words  are  :  "I  went  over 
to  Deptford  ;  but  it  seemed  I  was  got  into  a  den  of  lions  : 
most  of  the  leading  men  in  the  Society  were  mad  for 
separating  from  the  Church.  I  endeavored  to  reason  with 
them,  but  in  vain  ;  they  had  neither  sense  nor  even  good 
manners  left.  At  length,  after  meeting  the  whole  Society, 
I  told  them,  "  If  you  are  resolved,  you  may  have  your 
service  in  the  Church  hours  :  but,  remember,  from  that  time 
you  will  see  my  face  no  more  !  This  struck  deep,  and  from 
that  hour  I  heard  no  more  of  separation  from  the  Church." 

How  Mr.  Wesley  could  overlook  the  encouragement 
which  he  himself  had  given  to  such  movements  of  dissent, 
I  acknowledge  I  do  not  comprehend.  But  these  expres- 
sions not  only  bear  an  indubitable  stamp  of  feeling,  but  it 
is  impossible  to  conceive  why,  in  that  instance,  he  should 
have  spoken  otherwise  than  he  felt,  and  still  more,  that  he 
should  have  made  such  a  record  without  a  conscious  sense 
of  sincerity.  Common  policy  would  have  especially  for- 
bidden its  publication,  had  he  been  in  a  state  of  mind  duly 
to  weigh  either  his  own  recent  measures,  or  the  conse- 
quences morally  certain  to  ensue  from  them. 

When  those,  however,  whom  we  may  suppose  to  have 
advised  those  measures,  came  themselves  into  power,  they 
did  their  utmost  to  suppress  this  unquestionable  evidence 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  variance  with  himself,  or  rather  of  what 
were  still  the  unbiassed  workings  of  his  heart.  In  every 
edition  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal,  subsequent  to  his  death, 
the  former  passage  (Sept.  24th,  1786)  is  mutilated,  and  the 
latter  passage  (Jan.  2d,  1787)  wholly  cancelled.  They, 
doubtless,  hoped  to  consign  this  virtual  protest  against  their 
meditated  plan  to  everlasting  oblivion.  But  I  happened 
to  procure  the  original  edition,  and  thereby  had  it  in  my 
power  to  quote  both  passages  in  a  small  pamphlet  which  I 
published  in  England  in  the  year  1794,  against  the  then 
commencing  separation,  and  from  that  pamphlet  I  have 
now  transcribed  them.  Their  suppression  is  remarkable 
not  only  for  the  wily  policy  of  the  act  itself,  but  also  as  it 
serves  to  illustrate  the  kind  of  influence  under  which  Mr. 
Wesley  was  placed  during  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

Some  other  evidences  of  his  radically  unchanged  princi- 
ples (however  he  might  have  been  seduced  to  depart  from 
them  in  those  strange  instances  of  practice)  could  not  be 
similarly  put  out  of  view,  though  no  endeavor  of  this  kind 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


363 


was  wanting.  Thus,  when  Mr.  Wesley  was  in  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1789,  at  a  distance  from  prejudiced  advisers,  and 
among  persons  cordially  attached  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, he  composed  a  sermon  on  Hebrews,  v.  4,  which  he 
published,  twelve  months  after,  in  the  Arminian  Magazine, 
containing  as  energetic  a  testimony  as  could  be  expressed 
in  language  against  separation  from  the  Church,  and  as- 
sumption by  his  preachers  of  the  priestly  office.  That 
even  in  this  sermon  there  are  gross  inconsistences  and 
self  impositions,  I  must  allow;  but  where  he  urges  what 
he  considered  the  main  point,  the  expressions  are  self- 
ovidently  the  language  of  his  heart.  Fully  aware  that 
there  was  an  ambition  among  his  preachers  to  assume  the 
ministerial  office,  he  tells  them  :  "  Ye  never  dreamed  of 
this  for  ten  or  twenty  years  after  ye  began  to  preach.  Ye 
did  not  then,  like  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,  seek  the 
priesthood  also.  Ye  knew,  no  man  taJceth  this  honor  to 
himself,  hut  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron^  He 
then  proceeds :  **  O !  contain  yourselves  within  your  own 
bounds.  Be  content  with  preaching  the  Gospel.  I  earn- 
estly advise  you,  abide  in  your  place ;  keep  your  own 
station.  Ye  were  fifty  years  ago,  those  of  you  who  were 
then  Methodist  preachers,  extraordinary  messengers  of 
God,  not  going  in  your  own  will,  but  thrust  out,  not  to 
supersede,  but  to  provoke  to  jealousy  the  ordinary  messen- 
gers. In  God's  name  stop  there.  Ye  yourselves  were  at 
first  called  in  the  Church  of  England  ;  and  though  ye  have, 
and  will  have,  a  thousand  temptations  to  leave  it,  and  set 
up  for  yourselves,  regard  them  not.  Be  Church-of-England 
men  still.  Do  not  cast  away  the  peculiar  glory  which  God 
hath  put  upon  you,  and  frustrate  the  design  of  Providence, 
the  very  end  for  which  God  raised  you  up." 

How  very  unpalatable  this  language  was,  to  those  whose 
counsels  had  already  made  the  evil  too  strong  for  repres- 
sion, appears  from  their  omission  of  this  sermon  in  the 
volume  of  Mr.  Wesley's  yet  uncollected  discourses,  pub- 
lished after  his  death.  He  had  himself  collected  into  four 
volumes  the  sermons  he  had  written  for  the  Arminian 
Magazine ;  but  as  he  persevered  in  this  labor  until  within 
the  last  three  months  of  his  life,  enough  remained  at  the 
time  of  his  death  to  form  an  additional  volume.  But  the 
sermon  from  which  I  have  transcribed  the  above  passage 
was  suppressed,  and  has  never  since  appeared  in  any  edi- 
tion of  Mr.  Wesley's  sermons.     It  follows  that  if  Mr. 


384 


REMARKS   ON   THE  LIFE  AND 


Wesley  had  been  wholly  guided  by  those  persons  who 
occasionally,  toward  the  close  of  his  life,  had  influence 
upon  him,  and  who  came  into  full  power  at  his  death,  that 
discourse  never  would  have  appeared,  nor,  indeed,  ever 
would  have  been  written.  Although,  therefore,  this  ser- 
mon affords  little  evidence  of  Mr.  Wesley's  firmness  or 
consistency,  since,  in  the  former  part  of  it,  he  gives  up  the 
principle  which  he  had  so  strenuously  maintained  in  Sep- 
tember, 1786,  and  January,  1787,  yet  the  case  altogether 
clearly  shows,  that  there  was  no  community  either  of 
counsels  or  of  feelings  between  Mr.  Wesley  and  that  sepa- 
rating faction  to  which,  notwithstanding,  in  spite  of  himself, 
he  was  gradually  giving  way.  Hence  then,  I  conceive,  all 
that  I  am  anxious  to  prove  necessarily  follows ;  I  mean, 
that  John  Wesley's  share  in  those  separating  movements 
had  nothing  in  it  of  artful  contrivance,  or  of  systematical 
design,  but  that  it  was  a  reluctant  yielding  to  circumstances 
which  had  become  embarrassing  in  proportion  as  he  be- 
came incapable  of  managing  them ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  he  foresaw  results  which  he  would  fain  have  palliated, 
but  which  he  could  not  anticipate  without  unfeigned  anguish 
of  heart. 

That  such  strictly  were  Mr.  Wesley's  feelings  within  tho 
last  twelve  months  of  his  life,  appears  from  a  paper  which 
he  published  in  the  Arminian  Magazine  for  April,  1790. 
It  is  his  object  to  defend  himself  against  the  charge  of 
being  a  separatist ;  but  his  arguments  are  better  fitted  to 
excite  pity  than  to  produce  conviction.  Every  thing  he 
says  bespeaks  present  perplexity,  and  apprehension  for 
the  future  :  the  last  paragraph  in  particular  expresses,  in 
language  beyond  all  deceit,  the  painful  forebodings  of  an 
afflicted  heart.  I  never,"  he  says,  "  had  any  design  of 
separating  from  the  Church ;  I  have  no  such  design  now : 
I  do  not  believe  the  Methodists  in  general  design  it.  I  do, 
and  will  do,  all  that  is  in  my  power  to  prevent  such  an 
event :  nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  I  can  do,  many  will 
separate  from  it ;  although  I  am  inclined  to  think  not  one 
half,  perhaps  not  a  third  of  them.  These  will  be  so  bold 
and  injudicious  as  to  form  a  separate  party,  which,  conse- 
quently, will  dwindle  into  a  dry,  dull,  separate  party.  In 
flat  opposition  to  these,  I  declare,  once  more,  that  I  live 
and  die  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  that 
none  who  regard  my  judgment  or  advice  will  ever  separate 
from  it.*' 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


365 


The  false  reckonings  which  Mr.  Wesley  still  entertained, 
when  he  wrote  this  paragraph,  neither  affect  its  import  nor 
abate  its  force.  It  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  John 
Wesley's  own  final  deep-toned  manifesto  against  that  very 
thing  which  his  people  became,  as  soon  as  it  was  in  their 
power,  after  his  death.  It  is  needless  to  say,  that  he  never 
could  have  thus  expressed  himself,  had  he  in  any  degree 
consciously  symbolized  with  them,  or  even  if  he  had  been 
half-hearted  upon  the  subject. 

Still,  however,  it  may  be  objected,  that  soon  after  the 
publication  of  that  paper,  the  conclusion  of  which  I  have 
just  transcribed,  Mr.  Wesley,  according  to  Mr.  Moore  (Life 
of  Wesley,  vol.  ii.,  p.  386),  added  one  more  to  the  number 
of  those  who  had  been  ordained  by  him  and  his  two  asso- 
ciates. But  on  full  consideration,  I  can  not  see  that  even 
this  strange  act  would  warrant  the  suspicion  that,  in  depre- 
cating secession  from  the  Church,  he  had  not  spoken  from 
his  heart.  On  the  contrary,  I  can  conceive  that,  partly 
from  the  general  illusiveness  of  his  views,  and  partly  from 
the  increased  weakness  of  all  his  mental  powers,  he  might 
have  persuaded  himself  that,  by  giving  the  best  ordination 
he  could,  to  a  fev/  of  his  preachers,  on  whose  discretion 
and  steadiness  he  thought  he  might  rely,  he  would  not 
further,  but  impede,  a  general  separation.  I  grant,  on  the 
first  view,  it  must  appear  unreasonable  that  even  the  im- 
becility of  old  age  could  have  formed  such  a  thought ;  but 
that  it  might  not  be  wholly  without  plausibility  to  John 
Wesley's  perplexed  and  boding  mind,  is  countenanced  by 
this  remarkable  fact,  that  in  the  actual  event  of  separation, 
the  orders  conferred  by  Mr.  Wesley  were  treated  with 
jealousy  and  neglect,  if  not  with  absolute  scorn.  It  was 
determined  that  the  few  preachers  who  had  received  those 
orders,  instead  of  communicating  them  to  the  rest  (which 
would  of  course  have  been  the  case  on  the  supposition  of 
a  concerted  plan),  should,  on  the  contrary,  be  allowed  no 
kind  of  preeminence ;  but  that  the  preachers  generally,  in 
proportion  as  societies  might  wish  for  it,  should,  without 
any  previous  ceremony,  exercise  every  ministerial  func- 
tion, that  is,  should  literally  realize  what  Mr.  Wesley  had 
reprobated  as  the  crime  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram. 
The  absurdity  of  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct,  as  well  as  of  his 
calculations,  is  one  thing,  but  the  duplicity  of  it  is  quite 
another  thing ;  and  I  submit  whether  the  actual  event 
(proving,  as  it  does,  a  complete  dissonance  of  design  be- 


366 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


tween  him  and  the  leading  preachers)  must  not  be  held  to 
acquit  him  of  prevarication  or  collusion,  as  much  as  it  con- 
victs him  of  practical  vacillation  and  palpable  self-decep- 
tion ]  I  should  certainly  feel  it  much  more  difficult  to 
understand  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct,  if  I  were  not  previously 
acquainted  with  the  peculiar  anomalies  of  his  mind.  As  I 
have  already  intimated,  there  were  two  sets  of  affections, 
of  which  each  had  a  real  place  in  his  heart.  In  his  preva- 
lent tastes  and  likings,  as  an  individual,  he  was  a  Church- 
of-England  man  of  the  highest  tone  :  not  only  did  he  value 
and  love  that  pure  spirit  of  faith  and  piety  which  the 
Church  of  England  inherits  from  Catholic  antiquity  ;  but 
even  in  the  more  circumstantial  part,  there  was  not  a  ser- 
vice or  a  ceremony,  a  gesture  or  a  habit,  for  which  he  had 
not  an  unfeigned  predilection.  He  was  not  only  free  from 
every  puritanical  leaning,  but  the  aversion  for  those  early 
enemies  of  the  Established  Church  which  he  had  imbibed 
in  his  youth,  though  repressed  and  counteracted,  was  by 
no  means  wholly  subdued,  even  in  the  last  stage  of  his  life. 
His  own  ecclesiastical  irregularities  had  arisen,  not  from 
choice,  but  solely  from  what  he  himself  had  considered  an 
imperative  call  of  duty.  By  obeying  this  call,  he  conceived 
he  had  been  an  instrument  of  inestimable  good  to  many 
thousands  of  human  beings  ;  and  to  sustain  that  good  in  its 
extension,  or  even  existence,  he  regarded  his  Society  as 
indispensable.  Here,  therefore  (as  I  have  already,  more 
than  once,  intimated),  was  the  single  consideration  to 
which  he  was  prepared  to  sacrifice,  in  case  of  absolute 
necessity,  those  original  attachments  which,  I  am  certain, 
notwithstanding,  existed  to  the  last  hour  in  his  heart.  It 
appears,  however,  to  have  been  his  wish  and  hope  to  avert 
any  such  necessity,  and  by  partial  compliances,  hke  many 
another  mistaken  politician,  to  arrest  a  revolutionary  prog- 
ress, which,  when  completed,  he  had  still  judgment  enough 
to  foresee  would  effect  what  he  accounted  the  ruin  of  his 
institution. 

Were  I  called  upon  to  express  my  sense  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's conduct  in  those  unfortunate  conjunctures,  under  the 
most  solemn  sanction,  and  with  all  my  own  recollections 
before  me,  I  could  not  deviate  from  the  view  I  have  now 
given  ;  and,  with  respect  to  his  general  character,  from  all 
I  perceived  in  him,  or  have  known  concerning  him,  I  must 
deliberately  express  my  conviction,  that  Mr.  Wesley  "  prided 
himself"  in  nothing,  and  that  he  was  not  more  devoid  of 


CHARACTER   OF   JOHN  WESLEY. 


367 


the  love  of  money  than  of  the  love  of  power ;  that  whWe  he 
certainly  had  some  of  **  the  talents,"  he  had  not  a  particle 
of  what  could  be  called  "  the  temper,  of  a  statesman  that 
Mr.  Fletcher  himself  was  not  more  devoid  of  ambition  than 
Mr.  Wesley ;  and,  in  one  word,  that  while  he  possessed 
every  amiable,  and  excellent,  and  saintlike  quality,  which 
Mr.  Southey  has  so  eloquently  and  so  cordially  ascribed  to 
him,  there  never  was  a  mere  human  being  more  completely 
free  from  those  very  frailties  of  temper  and  heart,  to  which 
Mr.  Southey  has,  with  so  much  apparent  reason,  been  led 
to  impute  Mr.  Wesley's  concluding  inconsistences.  I 
even  again  express  my  entire  persuasion,  that  had  Mr. 
Southey  personally  known  Mr.  Wesley,  as  I  knew  him,  he 
would  have  borne  substantially  the  same  testimony  as  I  am 
now  bearing.  He  would  have  equally  condemned  the  in- 
consistency into  which  Mr.  Wesley  was  betrayed  ;  but,  I 
rest  confident,  he  would  have  acquitted  him  of  every  thing 
which  could  imply  artifice  or  duplicity,  or  which  in  any  re- 
spect impeached  the  humility  of  his  mind,  or  the  purity  of 
his  heart.  In  that  case,  I  strongly  think  Mr.  Southey 
would  have  judged  more  favorably  of  Mr.  Wesley's  con- 
duct on  a  particular  occasion  in  the  earlier  part  of  his 
course,  the  external  circumstances  of  which  Mr.  Southey 
has  very  exactly  detailed  ;  I  mean  Mr.  Wesley's  difference 
with  Count  Zinzendorf  and  his  people. 

That,  in  this  instance,  Mr.  Wesley  never  acted  or  spoke 
indiscreetly,  is  more  than  I  could  assert :  he  had,  in  fact, 
so  intimately  connected  himself  with  the  Moravian  breth- 
ren, as  to  make  a  subsequent  separation  peculiarly  painful 
and  embarrassing.  Mr.  Southey  seems  to  be  of  opinion 
that  this  disagreement  was,  on  Mr.  Wesley's  side,  a  result 
of  ambitious  jealousy,  rather  than  of  conscientious  princi- 
ple ;  and,  considering  the  light  in  which  Mr.  Southey  has 
been  led  to  view  Mr.  Wesley's  general  character,  I  do  not 
wonder  that  he  should  put  this  construction  on  that  partic- 
ular transaction.  But  to  me,  who  from  close  and  often- 
repeated  inspection  of  Mr.  Wesley,  am  convinced  of  his 
freedom  from  every  selfish  frailty,  his  proceedings  in  sepa- 
rating from  the  Moravians  appear  to  involve  nothing,  in 
substance,  which  was  not  enjoined  by  Mr.  Wesley's  views 
of  duty,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  I  must  even 
acknowledge,  that  had  he  acted  materially  otherwise  with 
respect  to  Count  Zinzendorf  and  his  missionaries,  after  be- 
coming acquainted  with  their  real  character,  I  could  not 


368 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


have  regarded  him  in  the  same  morally  pure  and  spotless 
light  in  which  he  has  always  appeared  to  me  ;  nor  could  I, 
by  any  means,  equally  esteem  him  an  important  instrument 
of  mysterious  Providence. 

I  mentioned,  in  my  former  communication,  that  the  feat- 
ure in  Mr.  Wesley's  character  which  chiefly  excited  my 
esteem,  and  which  seemed  to  me  to  cast  a  softening  light 
over  even  his  errors  and  excesses,  was  his  ardent  and 
uniform  zeal  for  the  moral  spirit  of  Christianity.  This  I 
deliberately  think  it  was  which  alone  animated  him  in  all 
his  conflicts  with  cotemporary  religionists.  Hence,  ex- 
clusively, arose  that  remarkable  controversy,  in  the  later 
part  of  Mr.  Wesley's  life,  wherein  the  pure-minded  Mr. 
Fletcher  had  so  distinguished  a  share.  The  native  tone 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  moral  nature,  heightened,  as  I  have  said, 
by  his  close  and  cordial  study  of  the  ancient  Fathers,  and 
the  Anti-Calvinist  divines  of  the  Church  of  England,  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  endure  the  solifidian  system  in  any 
shape  or  form,  and,  least  of  all,  in  that  gross  modification 
of  it,  which  the  disciples  of  Zinzendoif  were  anxious  to 
promulgate. 

Mr.  Wesley  had  evidently  found  nothing  of  this  kind  in 
his  communications  with  Peter  Boehler.  In  his  visit  to 
the  Moravian  settlements  of  Marienborn  and  Hernhuth,  he 
met  several  matters  which,  whether  with  or  without  reason, 
he  was  inclined  to  question  ;  but  gross  unsoundness  of  doc- 
trine did  not  yet  present  itself.  That  a  limited  confidence 
was  placed  in  Mr.  Wesley,  as  being  not  fully  prepared  for 
initiation,  may  be  inferred  from  what  Count  Zinzendorf 
said  in  a  subsequent  conversation  at  Gray's  Inn  Walks. 
It  would  seem,  however,  that  the  doctrinal  views  of  the 
Moravians  themselves  had  assumed  somewhat  of  a  new 
form  during  the  years  1739  and  1740,  and  that  the  princi- 
ples which  called  forth  Mr.  Wesley's  strenuous  opposition, 
in  the  year  1741,  had  been  scarcely  suspected  by  him, 
until  they  were  actually  promulgated.  Even  then,  I  should 
suppose,  the  more  gross  extravagances  of  the  count  were, 
at  least,  but  in  embryo ;  at  any  rate  (as  Mr.  Southcy  ob- 
serves), they  "  had  not  been  transplanted  into  England ;" 
otherwise  Mr.  Wesley's  resistance  would  have  been  far 
more  energetic,  and  his  secession  immediate. 

Mr.  Southey  has  attentively  noted  the  particulai^  of  this 
remarkable  event  in  Mr.  Wesley's  course.  But  I  am 
obliged  to  take  a  very  different  view  of  the  motives  and 


CHARACTER   OF  JOIJN  WESLEY. 


369 


feelings  from  which  it  proceeded.  I  see  Mr.  Wesley  as  I 
myself  knew  him,  working  his  painful  but  most  upright 
way  through  those  perplexing  circumstances ;  I  discover 
no  movement  which  was  not  dictated  by  his  regard  for 
evangelical  truth,  or  suggested  by  his  gratitude  for  what 
he  esteemed  spiritual  benefit.  The  latter  sentiment  ac- 
counts to  me  for  every  instance  of  caution  or  hesitation  ; 
the  former,  for  his  practical  decisiveness,  in  the  issue. 

I  allow  that  Mr.  Wesley  "  was  not  born  to  hold  a  sec- 
ondary place ;"  but  I  most  conscientiously  and  solemnly 
maintain  that  it  was  exclusively  from  his  firmness  of  prin- 
ciple, and  independence  of  spirit,  and  in  no  respect  from 
an  overbearing  temper,  or  an  arrogant  mind.  Beside,  it 
seems  to  me  that  no  two  human  minds  could  have  been 
more  opposed  to  each  other,  in  spirit  and  habits,  than  the 
mind  of  Count  Zinzendorf  and  that  of  John  Wesley. 
Count  Zinzendorf  was  specious,  artful,  and  insinuating; 
and,  it  would  appear,  could  make  out  by  contrivance  what 
was  wanting  in  fact.  John  Wesley,  on  the  contrary,  wore 
no  disguise ;  he  disclaimed  every  shape  and  form  of  arti- 
fice ;  and,  perhaps,  never  was  attentive  as  he  should  have 
been  to  unite  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  with  the  harmless- 
ness  of  the  dove.  They  could  not,  therefore,  have  gone  on 
together,  had  their  doctrinal  disagreement  been  less  essen- 
tial. But,  things  being  as  they  were,  the  concentrated 
pointing  of  John  Wesley's  sternly  moral  mind,  and  relig- 
iously devoted  heart,  led  him  irresistibly  to  that  uncom- 
promising course  which  he  actually  pursued. 

Mr.  Southey  remarks  that,  after  the  formal  breach,  "the 
Moravians  forbore  from  all  controversy  on  the  subject;  but 
Wesley  did  not  continue  the  tone  of  charity  and  candor  in 
which  he  had  addressed  them  upon  the  separation."  As 
to  the  silence  of  the  Moravians,  I  apprehend,  it  was  only 
an  instance  of  their  general  determination.  At  no  time, 
perhaps,  could  Count  Zinzendorf  have  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained his  measures ;  and  the  more  his  system  advanced, 
the  necessity  seems  to  have  become  greater  for  avoiding 
development.  Mr.  Wesley,  I  am  persuaded,  would  have 
still  continued  his  tone  of  charity  and  candor,  if  fresh 
grounds  of  animadversion  had  not  come  before  him.  Mr. 
Wesley's  former  intimacy  with  the  Moravians  made  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  escape  entire  knowledge  of  those  enor- 
mities in  sentiment,  if  not  in  practice,  by  which  Count  Zin- 
zendorf scandalized  Christianity  and  outraged  common 


370 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


decency.  Mr.  Southey,  with  the  most  obvious  wish  not  to 
be  unduly  severe,  justly  describes  the  count's  offensive  lan- 
guage and  conduct  as  **  lothesome  and  impious  extrava- 
gances." If  the  "perilous  error"  of  this  infatuated  man  be 
thus  revolting  to  Mr.  Southey,  in  the  distant  retrospect,  with 
what  feelings  could  Mr.  Wesley  have  regarded  it,  at  the 
moment,  but  those  of  indignation  and  hoiTor  ] 

I  would  also  observe,  that  the  instances  of  discontinued 
"  charity  and  candor"  which  Mr,  Southey  has  adverted  to, 
occurred  more  than  ten  years  after  the  formal  separation. 
During  that  interval  the  count  had  been  playing  "  such  fan- 
tastic tricks  before  high  heaven"  as  astounded  all  sober- 
minded  Christians  throughout  Protestant  Europe.  And 
though  I  think  Mr.  Wesley  would  have  done  much  better, 
had  he  passed  over  the  ostentatious  parade  of  titles,  where 
there  were  such  weightier  matters  of  censure,  and  though 
I  by  no  means  question  that  it  was  very  injudicious  to 
found  general  charges  on  private  communications  to  him- 
self, when  so  many  particulars  of  a  gross  and  flagrant  kind 
were  authentically  before  the  public ;  yet,  considering  the 
general  strain  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal  (how  far,  in  itself, 
allowable  or  exceptionable,  I  am  not  inquiring),  and  the 
habitual  freedom  with  which  he  gives  his  thoughts  of  men 
and  things,  it  would  be  to  me,  knowing  Mr.  Wesley  as  I 
did,  a  matter  of  wonder,  if  his  strictures  on  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  had  been  less  explicit  or  less  emphatical.  I  have  not 
a  doubt  that  his  hatred  of  the  count's  character  and  con- 
duct was  as  intense  as  his  own  love  of  purity,  "  simplicity, 
and  godly  sincerity;"  and,  circumstanced  as  he  was,  and 
had  been,  he  must  have  felt  and  resented,  perhaps,  more 
than  any  other  of  his  cotemporaries,  the  depth  and  viru- 
lence of  the  scandal.  I  plead,  however,  for  Mr.  Wesley's 
correctness  of  judgment  in  few  things,  either  actual  or 
verbal ;  but  I  unfeignedly  and  cordially  offer  myself  as  an 
evidence  (perhaps  the  only  impartial  one  now  living)  to  his 
utter  incapacity  of  every  thing  "  disingenuous  ;"  to  his 
childlike  "  candor,"  and  to  his  invincible  "  charity." 

Mr.  Southey  says,  most  justly,  of  Mr.  Wesley,  that  he 
never  returned  railing  for  railing,"  and  that  he  was 
"  always  calm  and  decorous  in  controversy."  But  I  ven- 
ture to  assert  that  this  was  not  merely,  or  chiefly,  because 
"  he  had  his  temper  entirely  under  command,*'  but,  rather, 
because  he  had  no  unkindly  temper  to  control.  I  repeat, 
what  I  have  said  in  effect  already,  that  I  never  knew  a  man 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


371 


who  seemed  to  me  more  deeply  imbued  with  that  heaven- 
ly principle  of  which  St.  Paul  says,  "  Ov  (^iVOLovrai,  ovic 
doxVfJ-ovel,  ov  ^rjrel  rd  eavTrjg,  ov  napo^vverai."  The 
ascribing  the  illness  of  his  chief  antagonist  to  the  "  arm  of 
the  Lord,"  bespoke  that  want,  which  often  showed  itself; 
I  mean,  of  sober  judgment;  but,  prone  as  he  was  to  re- 
solve every  thing  into  particular  Providence,  it  was  a  nat- 
ural result  of  this  persuasion  to  put  that  construction  on 
the  seemingly  opportune  fettering  of  one  whom  he  consid- 
ered as  "  not  ceasing"  (like  Elymas  of  old)  to  "pervert  the 
right  ways  of  the  Lord."  It  has  been  a  common  error  of 
Reformers  to  suppose  themselves  standing  on  the  same 
ground  as  the  Apostles ;  and  though  in  John  Wesley  this 
persuasion  was  qualified  by  a  generous  temper,  a  cultivated 
mind,  and  an  understanding  as  clear,  in  some  instances,  as 
it  was  obscured  and  limited  in  others,  he  nevertheless  felt 
an  habitual  confidence  that,  in  his  conflicts  for  "  pure  and 
undefiled  religion"  (that  "  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord")  the  hand  of  God  was  with  him.  Such 
a  contention  strictly  he  considered  that  with  Mr.  Molther. 
He  was  not  supporting  one  opinion  against  another.  He 
conceived  himself  resisting  the  grossest  adulteration  possi- 
ble of  evangelical  morality.  On  his  own  principles,  there- 
fore, he  was  likely  to  suppose  a  providential  interference, 
though  he  was  as  charitable  as  a  ministering  angel.  The 
weakness  and  precipitancy  of  such  a  reckoning  I  entirely 
allow ;  but  as  I  can  conceive  St.  Paul  to  have  struck  Ely- 
mas with  blindness,  and  yet  have  no  particle  of  uncharita- 
ble feeling  toward  the  unhappy  victim,  so  can  I  similarly 
suppose  John  Wesley  to  have  been  as  devoid  of  malevo- 
lence as  the  Apostle  himself ;  the  delusiveness  of  the  one 
case,  as  opposed  to  the  reality  of  the  other,  implying  the 
greatest  difference  in  what  concerns  the  understanding ; 
but,  as  it  seems  to  me,  no  difference  necessarily  in  what 
concerns  the  heart.  Still,  had  I  not  personally  known  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  been  thereby  entitled  to  judge  more  exactly 
respecting  his  dispute  with  the  Moravians,  I  might  possi- 
bly have  felt,  with  Mr.  Southey,  that  Mr.  Wesley's  justifi- 
cation of  himself  against  Mr.  Church's  charge  of  imagining 
"  immediate  punishments"  from  Heaven  "  on  those  who  op- 
posed" him,  was  '*  very  discreditable."  I  can  well  under- 
stand that  Mr.  Wesley's  limitation  of  his  assertion,  as  not 
having  said  that  it  was  "  a  judgment  of  God  for  opposing'* 
him,  should  appear,  even  to  the  most  candid  reader,  little 


372 


REMARKS   ON  THE   LIFE  AND 


better  than  an  unworthy  quibble.  But,  from  my  nearer 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Wesley's  character,  I  feel  entire 
conviction  that  he  meant  honestly  to  express  what  was 
really  in  his  heart.  The  opposition  of  Mr.  Molther  to  }dm- 
self,  I  am  infinitely  assured,  never  cost  him  a  thought. 
Even  as  a  man  he  rose  above  selfish  passions,  and  as  a 
Christian  he  abhorred  them.  But  his  zeal  for  evangelical 
virtue  was  uncompromising  and  intense ;  and  where  this 
best  of  interests  appeared  to  him  to  be  either  outrageously 
or  insidiously  opposed,  his  over  ardent  imagination  was  too 
apt  to  mistake  common  casualties  for  special  interferences 
of  heaven.  I  am  well  aware  that  this  was  one  of  his  very 
weakest  points  ;  but  I  most  deliberately  avouch,  once  more, 
that  his  own  honor,  or  his  own  consequence,  was  to  him  as 
the  small  dust  of  the  balance  ;  and  that  he  cared  for  noth- 
ing on  this  earth  but  that  which  he  conceived  vitally  con- 
nected with  the  practical  religion  of  the  heart.  And  he 
too  well  knew  the  nature  of  this  heavenly  principle,  and 
was  himself  much  too  deeply  imbued  and  animated  with  its 
influence,  to  conceive  for  a  moment  that  "  the  wrath  of 
marc'  could  work,  in  any  instance  or  manner,  "  the  right- 
eousness of  Gody 

Mr.  Southey  remarks  that  John  Wesley's  doctrine  of 
perfection  was  at  least  as  objectionable  to  the  Moravians 
as  their  mysticism  to  him  ;  and  gives  his  own  judgment, 
that  assuredly  it  was  more  dangerous. 

I  can  venture  to  say,  from  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, that  if  mysticism  alone  had  been  chargeable  on  the 
Moravians,  his  objections  would  have  been  much  more 
easily  obviated.  He  certainly  considered  the  supposed 
self-annihilation  of  mysticism  to  be  in  opposition  to  the 
tenor  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  uniformly  addresses  itself 
to  man's  natural  thirst  for  happiness  ;  but  still,  he  thought, 
that  whatever  pernicious  consequences  were  to  be  feared 
from  the  mystical  illusion,  itself  might  coexist  with  the 
deepest  piety.  In  those  Moravians,  however,  he  saw  it 
strangely  associated  with  principles  leading  directly  to  lax- 
ity of  practice;  and  on  this  account  he  seems  to  have  ani- 
madverted on  mysticism  with  more  severity  than  was  his 
usual  custom.  In  fact,  had  he  not  regarded  mystics  gener- 
ally with  liberal  indulgence,  he  would  hardly  have  abiidged 
Law's  later  works,  and  Madame  Guion's  Life  of  herself, 
for  circulation  among  his  people. 

But  Mr.  Southey  expresses  a  strong  opinion  that  Joho 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


373 


Wesley's  doctrine  of  perfection  was  more  dangerous  than 
the  Moravian  mysticism.  On  this  point  it  is  my  wish  merely 
to  state  facts,  in  order  to  enable  Mr.  Southey,  after  hear- 
ing evidence,  to  fix  the  extent  of  Mr.  Wesley's  liability  to 
censure. 

It  is  a  fact,  then,  that  in  one  stage  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
course,  he  carried  the  doctrine  of  religious  perfection  to 
such  an  extreme  as  to  call  forth  his  own  subsequent  cen- 
sure and  retractation.  In  a  preface  to  a  volume  of  hymns, 
published  in  the  year  1741,  he  made  those  excessive  state- 
ments ;  and  to  a  republication  of  that  preface,  in  1777,  he 
appended  notes  for  the  purpose  of  disavowing  several  of 
his  former  positions.  Still,  however,  he  retained  his  per- 
suasion, that  that  maturity  of  Christian  virtue  for  which  he 
contended  was,  though  not  always,  yet  in  general,  suddenly 
acquired,  and  that  there  was  a  special  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spiiit,  by  which  those  who  attained  it  were  inwardly  and 
immediately  assured  of  its  possession.  In  both  which  in- 
stances, Mr.  Wesley  appears  to  have  relied  exclusively  on 
what  he  conceived  himself  to  have  seen  and  heard  within 
his  own  Society.  How  much  he  was  exposed  to  delusion 
by  relying  on  this  standard,  I  have  already  remarked.  But 
it  was  a  necessary  result  of  that  credulity  of  which  Mr. 
Southey  most  justly  says,  that  it  "  was  Wesley's  peculiar 
weakness,  and  he  retained  it  to  the  last." 

It  is,  however,  not  the  less  true,  that  "  as  he  grew  older, 
cooler,  and  wiser,  he  modified  and  softened  down"  the 
doctrine  of  perfection  ;  but  I  confess  he  does  not  appear  to 
me  to  have  "  almost  explained  it  away,"  but  rather  to  have 
returned  to  that  notion  of  it  which  he  could  not  but  know 
was  alone  countenanced  by  the  consent  of  the  ancient 
Fathers,  and  the  most  eminent  anti-Calvinistic  divines  of 
the  Church  of  England.  I  do  not  mean  that  his  return  was 
full  and  perfect ;  I  speak  only  of  the  substance  of  what  he 
taught,  as  Mr.  Southey  has  quoted  it.  He  thinks  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  having  thus  moderated  the  doctrine,  should  also 
have  abandoned  the  term.  That  he  made  an  injudicious 
use  of  it,  so  that  the  word  became  hackneyed,  and  the  idea 
which  it  conveys  perniciously  misconceived,  I  freely  allow; 
but  I  would  submit  to  Mr.  Southey  some  of  the  authorities 
which  countenanced  the  term  itself  substantially  in  the 
same  sense  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  applied  it. 

Mr.  Southey  is  not  to  be  told  that  Peter  Lombard,  in  his 
Book  of  Sentences,  aims  at  giving  a  digested  compendium 


374 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


of  the  theology  taught  by  the  Fathers.  In  correcting  the 
excess  of  some  innovators,  wlio  maintained,  that  the  grace 
of  charity^  once  really  possessed,  is  never  lost,  and  who 
thought  to  support  that  position  by  St.  Paul's  declaration, 
that  "  charity  never  faileth,"  he  says  :  "  Potest  tamen  hoc, 
et  caetera  quae  de  caritate  dicta  sunt,  de  perfects  caritate 
intelligi,  quam  soli  perfecti  habent.  Sunt  enim  virtutis  ex- 
ordia, et  profectus,  et  ferfectior  He  even  goes  so  far  as 
to  say  (quoting  St.  Augustin  to  bear  him  out),  that  vv^hile 
not  only  caritas  incipiens,  but  even  caritas  "  provecta  amitti 
potest,  et  saepe  amittitur,  perfecta  caritas  sic  radicata  est,  ut 
amitti  nequeat."  In  which  position,  by  the  way,  *'  the 
Master"  is  not  followed  by  later  Roman  Catholic  divines; 
and  accordingly,  Istius,  in  his  work  on  the  Book  of  Sen- 
tences, enters  a  caveat  against  it;  while,  on  the  contrary, 
the  learned  and  judicious  Bishop  Overall  (Appendix  to 
Ford,  De  Articulis)  quotes  this  very  passage  from  Lom- 
bard, as  in  unison  with  the  doctrines  of  the  English  Church. 

A  much  earlier  writer  than  Lombard,  but  who,  like  him, 
strictly  formed  himself  on  the  model  of  the  ancients,  has 
also  made  deliberate  and  deep  use  of  the  term  in  question. 
I  the  more  readily  refer  to  him,  because  I  perceive  that  he 
does  not  stand  higher  in  my  estimation  than  in  that  of  Mr. 
Southey  ;  I  mean  the  truly  venerable  Bede.  The  passage 
from  which  I  mean  to  quote  is  too  long  to  be  transcribed, 
which  it  would  well  deserve,  notwithstanding  its  fancifully 
allegorical  form.  His  subject  is,  the  two  altars  in  the 
Jewish  temple  ;  the  altar  of  burnt- offerings,  and  the  altar 
of  incense.  These  he  ingeniously  (however  gratuitously) 
supposes  to  be  emblematic  of  two  degrees  of  practical 
Christianity ;  that  in  which  it  is  substantially  commenced 
and  established  in  the  mind  and  heart,  and  that  in  which 
it  has  advanced  to  maturity.  Those  who  belong  to  the 
lower  state  of  grace,  he  says,  "  walk  not  after  the  desires 
of  the  flesh;  but  having  sacrificed  their  desires  to  God,  " 
they  dedicate  to  His  will,  through  the  fire  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  all  their  bodily  senses."  In  these  he  thinks  he  finds 
various  points  of  resemblance  to  the  brazen  altar  on  which 
the  sacrifices  were  consumed.  Those,  on  the  other  hand, 
whom  he  conceives  represented  by  the  altar  of  incense, 
are  they,  "  qui,  majori  mentis  pefectione,  extinctis  prorsus 
et  sopitis  illecebris  omnibus  carnis,  sola.  Domino,  oralio- 
num  vota  offerunt."  He  adds,  that  in  Christians  of  this 
high  character  there  remains,  "  nil  quidem  de  carne,  quod 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


375 


se  impugnet ;  nil  de  conscientid  peccati,  unde  conturben- 
tur  ac  paveant." 

Were  my  books  just  now  within  my  reach,  I  dare  say  I 
might  produce  several  other  similar  instances.  But  I  had 
happened  to  make  extracts  from  both  Lombard  and  Bede, 
and  to  have  them  at  hand.  I  might  also  produce  several 
divines  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  but  I  believe  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  quote  Bishop  Taylor  and  Dr.  Lucas,  both  of 
whom  John  Wesley  had  peculiarly  made  "  guides  of  his 
youth  and  as  he  appears  to  have  been,  under  Providence, 
indebted  to  them  for  some  of  his  best  principles,  it  is  at 
least  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  should  have  adopted 
and  retained,  not  only  the  matter  of  their  sentiments,  but 
their  modes  of  expression.* 

Mr.  Southey  has  recorded  the  deep  impression  on  Mr. 
Wesley's  yet  unestablished  mind,  from  reading  Jeremy 
Taylor's  Holy  Living ;  and  he  himself  is  doubtless  well 
acquainted  with  the  works  of  an  author  whose  spirit  was 
so  congenial  to  his  own.  But  probably  he  never  happened 
on  the  following  passage  in  one  of  Taylor's  latest  dis- 
courses, which  was  preached  before  the  University  of  Dub- 
lin in  1662. 

"  Lastly,  there  is  a  sort  of  God's  dear  servants  who  walk 
in  perfectness ;  who  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God  ; 
and  they  have  a  degree  of  charity  and  divine  knowledge 
more  than  we  can  discourse  of,  and  more  certain  than  the 
demonstrations  of  geometry,  brighter  than  the  sun,  and  in- 
deficient  as  the  light  of  heaven.  But  I  shall  say  no  more 
of  this  at  this  time ;  for  this  is  to  be  felt,  and  not  to  be 
talked  of;  and  they  who  never  touched  it  with  their  fingers 
may  secretly,  perhaps,  laugh  at  it  in  their  hearts,  and  be 
never  the  wiser.  All  that  I  shall  now  say  of  it  is,  that  a 
good  man  is  united  unto  God,  Kevrpov  Ksvrpco  ovvaipag. 
As  a  flame  touches  a  flame,  and  combines  into  splendor 
and  glory,  so  is  the  spirit  of  a  man  united  unto  Christ  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  These  are  the  friends  of  God,  and  they 
best  know  God's  mind ;  and  they  only  that  are  so,  know 

♦  Mr.  Southey  may  reasonably  ask,  on  what  ground  I  have  thus  as- 
sociated Lucas  with  Taylor  in  John  Wesley's  early  institution.  My 
answer  is,  that  a  hymn,  which  manifests  J.  W.'s  peculiar  manner,  en- 
titled Zeal,  is  to  be  found  in  his  first  volume  of  Hymns,  which,  while 
it  expresses  the  highest  soarings  of  a  morally  ambitious  mind,  is,  from 
beginning  to  end,  a  close  versification  of  a  passage  in  Lucas,  in  which, 
under  the  term  of  zeal,  the  highest  supposable  state  of  gra.ce  on  earth 
is  vividly,  and  I  might  say  sublimely,  delineated. 


376 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


how  much  such  men  do  know.  They  have  a  special  unc- 
tion from  above." 

Mr.  Wesley  would  be  the  more  likely  to  catch  the  spirit, 
and  even  the  expression,  of  such  a  glowing  passage  as  this, 
because  the  tenor  of  Bishop  Taylor's  former  writings  give 
evidence  that  it  was  no  mere  burst  of  eloquence,  or  flight 
of  imagination,  but  that  it  spoke  the  language  of  his  uniform 
persuasion  and  settled  judgment.  Thus,  in  the  dedication 
to  Lord  Carbery,  of  that  very  work  by  which  Mr.  Wesley 
had  been  so  remarkably  impressed,  the  Holy  Living,  he 
could  not  have  failed  to  notice  an  observation,  which  in 
different  words  conveyed  substantially  the  same  notion  : 
"  There  are  some  persons,"  he  says,  "in  whom  the  Spirit 
of  God  hath  breathed  so  bright  a  flame  of  love,  that  they 
do  all  their  acts  of  virtue  by  perfect  choice,  and  without 
objection ;  and  their  zeal  is  warmer  than  that  it  will  be  al- 
layed by  temptation  ;  and  to  such  persons  mortification  by 
philosophical  instruments,  as  fasting,  sackcloth,  and  other 
rudenesses,  is  wholly  useless.  If  love  hath  filled  all  the 
corners  of  our  soul,  he  alone  is  able  to  do  all  the  work  of 
God." 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  in  Mr.  Wesley's  own 
"account"  of  his  doctrine  "of  Christian  perfection,"  he 
states  that  his  feelings  on  that  subject  were  first  excited  in 
reading  the  last-mentioned  work  of  Bishop  Taylor ;  "  that 
part,  in  particular,  which  relates  to  purity  of  intention.'" 

Dr.  Lucas  is  much  less  known  in  the  present  day  than 
he  ought  to  be.  I  can  only  account  for  it  by  supposing 
that  his  views  of  Christian  piety  are  too  moral  and  practi- 
cal for  those  who  belong  to  the  "  Evangelical"  party,  and 
too  affectionate  and  spiritual  for  most  of  those  who  are  ad- 
verse to  it.  In  what  estimation  he  was  formerly  held,  may 
be  seen  in  the  sixty-third  number  of  the  Guardian. 

"  An  Enquiry  after  Happiness,"  in  two  volumes,  8vo,  is 
his  principal  work ;  the  third  part  of  which  fills  the  second 
volume,  and  is  entitled  Religious  Perfection.  I  have  al- 
ready mentioned  one  evidence  of  Mr.  Wesley's  esteem  for 
this  treatise  :  another  is,  that  he  inserted  it,  with  little 
abridgment,  in  his  Christian  Library.  A  single  passage 
wdll  enable  Mr.  Southey  to  judge  whether  Mr.  Wesley's 
language,  as  well  as  his  practical  view  of  the  subject,  is  not 
countenanced  by  this  wise  and  excellent  divine. 

"  Religious  perfection,"  he  says,  "  is  nothing  else  but  the 
moral  accomplishment  of  human  nature, — such  a  maturity 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY, 


377 


of  virtue  as  man  in  this  life  is  capable  of.  Conversion  be- 
gins, perfection  consummates,  the  habit  of  righteousness  :  in 
the  one,  religion  is  as  it  were  in  its  infancy ;  in  the  other, 
in  its  strength  and  manhood ;  so  that  perfection,  in  short, 
is  nothing  else  but  a  ripe  and  settled  habit  of  true  holiness. 
According  to  this  notion  of  religious  perfection,  he  is  a 
perfect  man  whose  mind  is  pure  and  vigorous,  and  his 
body  tame  and  obsequious  ;  whose  faith  is  firm  and  steady, 
his  love  ardent  and  exalted,  and  his  hope  full  of  assur- 
ance;  whose  religion  has  in  it  that  ardor  and  constancy, 
and  his  soul  that  tranquillity  and  pleasure,  which  bespeaks 
him  a  child  of  the  light  and  of  the  day,  a  partaker  of  the 
Divine  nature,  and  raised  above  the  corruption  which  is  in 
this  world  through  lust." 

Such  is  Dr.  Lucas's  statement  of  that  full  grown  Christ- 
ian piety  which  he  denominates  religious  perfection,  and 
which,  under  this  notion,  he  proceeds  to  expand  and  en- 
force. After  having  completed  his  design,  in  his  conclu- 
sion he  thus  expresses  himself:  **  An  opinion  of  the  impos- 
sibility of  perfection  has  both  been  begot  and  cherished  by 
those  bold  schemes  of  it  which  have  been  drawn  by  the 
hands  of  a  flaming,  indeed,  but  an  indiscreet  zeal.  But  I 
have  here  recommended  to  the  world  no  fantastic  or  enthu- 
siastic •perfection  :  I  have  advanced  no  heights  of  virtue, 
but  what  many  do,  I  hope,  actually  feel  and  experience  in 
themselves ;  none  but  what  I  am  sure  the  followers  of  the 
blessed  Jesus  actually  attained  and  practiced.  Be  ye  fol- 
lowers of  us,  said  the  Apostles,  as  we  are  of  Christ." 

That  Mr.  Wesley  had  not  always  followed  Dr.  Lucas  in 
his  discretion  (while  he  used  his  language),  I  have  already 
quoted  him  as  virtually  acknowledging.  But  it  appears 
that  even  that  excess  was  not  his  own  fanatical  conception, 
but  arose  from  following  too  implicitly  the  overcharged, 
though  still  beautiful,  draught  of  a  perfect  Christian  by 
Clemens  Alexandrinus.  He  says  in  one  of  his  letters 
(xxx"*),  **  I  do  not  admire  that  description  now  as  I  did 
formerly ;  I  now  see  a  stoic  and  a  Christian  are  different 
characters."  In  the  moderated  view  here  referred  to,  and 
stated  more  fully  in  the  letter  which  Mr.  Southey  has  quot- 
ed, I  would  beg  to  submit  whether  Mr.  Wesley  has  done 
more  than  come  down  from  the  height  which  he  at  length 
saw  to  be  imaginary,  to  Dr.  Lucas's  sounder  and  more  in- 
telligible level ;  I  would  venture  to  ask  whether  he  can  be 
fairly  censured  for  retaining  the  expressions^  while  soberly 


378 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


reducing  his  doctrine  to  tlie  notion  of  perhaps  the  soundest 
mind  which  had  thought  upon  the  subject. 

"  Soberly,''  I  mean,  as  to  the  substance  of  the  doctrine; 
but  I  must  again  confess,  not  as  to  all  its  circumstances. 
I  most  sincerely  regard  as  untenable  and  perilous  the 
"  urging"  of  "  believers,"  (as  he  understood  the  term)  or 
any  persons  whatever,  so  to  "  go  on  to  perfection,"  as  *'  to 
expect  it  every  moment."  I  believe  scarcely  any  thing 
tended  so  much  to  the  detriment  and  discredit  of  Wesleyan 
Methodism  as  the  prevalence  (so  far  as  it  did  prevail)  of 
that  very  urgency  for  present  effect,  which  Mr.  Wesley 
insisted  on.  At  the  same  time,  I  must  freely  own,  that 
had  not  Mr.  Wesley  retained  Lucas's  term,  when  he  so  far 
softened  down"  his  doctrine  into  Lucas's  sanity,  I  could 
not  regard  him  in  exactly  the  same  interesting  light  in 
which  he  now  appears  to  me.  My  meaning  is,  that  if  he 
had  not  retained  the  exact  language  of  the  ancient  divines, 
and  those  in  the  Church  of  England,  who  have  followed 
them,  he  would  not  have  been  an  equally  fit  instrument  of 
Providence  for  counteracting  the  adulterating  influence 
and  aggressive  spirit  of  the  cotemporary  religious  agency 
which  was  at  once,  in  some  respects,  so  similar  to  his  own, 
and  in  others  so  discordant.  Mr.  Southey  knows  well, 
that  there  was  not  a  more  perpetual  bone  of  contention 
between  John  Wesley  and  the  whole  phalanx  of  Calvinistic 
religionists,  than  the  single  word  perjectian.  Could  he 
have  been  induced  to  relinquish  this  one  obnoxious  term, 
I  am  not  sure  that  the  other  more  speculative  differences 
would  have  long  prevented  coalition.  But  the  point-blank 
contrariety  of  the  notion  conveyed  by  the  word  perfection, 
to  every  shape  or  form  of  solifidianism,  I  conceive  to  be 
such  as  to  have  made  its  retention  a  certain  pledge  of 
interminable  disagreement  and  opposition  to  each  other. 

Had  this  term  been  of  Mr.  Wesley's  own  manufacture, 
the  question  respecting  it  would  have  a  very  different 
aspect  :  nor  could  I  then  have  presumed  to  dispute  the 
justness  of  Mr.  Southey's  objection  to  its  use.  But  fully 
as  I  acknowledge,  and  sincerely  as  I  dissent  from,  the 
crude  coingrediency  to  which  the  principles  of  those  great 
men  (who  are  in  truth  but  the  specimen  of  **  a  cloud  of 
witnesses")  were  subjected,  in  the  hand  of  so  precipitate 
and  indiscriminating  a  propoundcr,  still  I  conceive  it  of 
infinite  importance  that,  notwithstanding  all  his  circum- 
stantial extravagances,  the  agreement  of  heart  and  spirit 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


379 


which  he  maintained  to  the  end,  with  the  pure  spiritual 
morahsts  of  the  Christian  Church,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
has  served,  and  will  yet  serve,  to  direct  attention  to  those 
luminaries,  and  bring  under  their  safe  and  happy  guidance, 
those  sounder  understandings,  and  more  exalted  minds, 
which  would  fain  be  devotedly  religious,  and  yet  can  find, 
in  those  theories  which  pass  for  evangelical,  nothing  with 
which  they  are  satisfied,  and  much  with  which  they  are 
disgusted. 

I  would  here  take  the  liberty  of  observing,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  Mr.  Southey's  work  which  has  interested  me 
more  than  the  view  which  he  appears  to  me  to  take  of 
God's  providential  government ;  and  I  have  read  with 
sincere  pleasure,  in  a  very  recent  publication,  the  strong 
avowal  of  his  "  persuasion,  that  all  things  upon  the  great 
scale  have  tended  to  the  general  good,  and  the  development 
of  the  great  scheme  of  ProvidenceJ^  The  frequent  applica- 
tion of  this  principle  to  Mr.  Wesley's  commencement  and 
career,  has  always  gratified  and  sometimes  surprised  me  ; 
I  mean,  because  I  found  in  some  instances  such  a  concur- 
rence with  preconceptions  of  my  own.  The  necessity 
which  Mr.  Southey  has  so  luminously  shown  (in  his  ninth 
chapter)  for  some  interposition  of  Providence  to  resusci- 
tate the  practical  sense  of  religion  in  the  English  mind,  at 
the  period  when  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Whitefield  began  to 
sound  their  alarm,  has  always  appeared  to  me  to  invest 
the  phenomenon  of  Methodism  with  a  character  wholly 
remote  from  mere  contingency.  I  must  not  now,  however, 
digress  into  the  particular  line  of  thought  to  which  I  have 
been  led  respecting  such  movements  ;  but  I  confess  I  have 
been  disposed  to  conclude,  not  merely  that  Wesley  and 
Whitefield  were  raised  to  supply  a  defect  for  which  the 
Church  of  England  had  not  provided,  but  rather  to  serve  a 
purpose  to  which  such  an  establishment  as  ours  was  per- 
fectly inadequate. 

The  strict  canonical  order  of  our  Church,  which  at  once 
furnishes  aliment  for  the  most  advanced  piety,  and  pre- 
serves that  piety,  however  elevated,  fi^om  every  alloy  of 
fanaticism,  afforded  no  proportioned  means  of  awakening 
an  entire  people  from  a  moral  sleep,  which  was  consan- 
guineus  lethi.  Had  even  any  number  of  the  established 
clergy  felt  the  exigence  of  the  case,  and  set  themselves  to 
remedy  it  by  their  exertions,  the  effect  at  best  would  have 
been  local,  and  most  probably  transient ;  while,  perhaps. 


380 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


the  regularity  of  the  Church  might  have  been  disturbed, 
and  its  spirit,  if  not  vitiated,  at  least  diluted,  by  the  adop- 
tion of  measures  which  honest  zeal  might  have  inspired, 
and  without  which  it  might  have  been,  perhaps  justly, 
thought  that  little  or  nothing  was  to  be  accomplished. 

An  agency,  therefore,  was  called  forth,  which  might  go 
every  length  that  was  thought  expedient,  without  blemish- 
ing the  character  of  the  Established  Church,  or  deranging 
its  machinery.  And  the  two  extraordinary  persons  who 
were  to  serve  this  providential  purpose  seemed  so  selected, 
that  their  exertions,  jointly  and  severally,  might  be  suffi- 
cient to  diffuse  a  new  religious  feeling  through  the  multi- 
tude, and  to  effect,  eventually,  a  kind  of  moral  revolution 
in  the  most  intelligent  and  enlightened  of  nations.  I  do 
not  now  rate  the  work  which  has  been  done  by  its  intrinsic 
qualities  (the  crudeness  of  which  might  be  fitted  for  an 
immature  state  of  the  public  mind),  but  by  its  magnitude, 
and  by  the  contrast  now  apparent  with  that  prevalent  in- 
difference to  religion  which  I  myself  remember. 

In  this  view,  then,  it  appears  to  me,  that  had  my  good 
old  friend  possessed  a  sounder  understanding,  and  more 
cautious  disposition,  he  might  have  been  proportionably 
disqualified  for  his  special  destination  ;  and,  much  as  I 
disapprove  and  dislike  the  tempestuous  ardor  of  his  first 
addresses,  and  still  more  the  astounding  effects  produced 
by  them,  I  am  not  sure  that  a  more  sober  commencement 
might  not  have  failed  in  bringing  an  individual  into  such 
universal  notoriety.  I  am,  therefore,  disposed  to  apply  to 
those  very  revolting  phenomena  which  attended  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's earlier  labors,  that  same  notion  of  providential  per- 
mission, and  mysterious  adjustment,  by  which  weakness  of 
mind  and  faultiness  of  conduct  have  been  so  often  and  so 
variously  made  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  Omniscient 
goodness. 

I  do  not,  however,  confine  iliis  remark  to  the  first  stage 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  course  ;  for  it  would  seem  that  his  actual 
destination,  however  valuable  in  its  essential  principles, 
and  important  in  its  ultimate  results,  was  never  to  emerge 
from  circumstantial  extravagance.  While  in  certain  re- 
spects he  was  susceptible  of  mental  improvement,  and  by 
that  means  may  have  infinitely  risen  in  value,  as  an  instru- 
ment of  Providence,  for  eventual  benejit,  such  I  conceive 
was  the  native  character  of  his  intellectual  machinery,  that 
he  was  to  be  always  liable  to  fallacious  apprehension,  false 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


381 


calculation,  and  dispropoitioned  energy  both  of  design  and 
execution.  He  was  (if  I  mistake  not)  to  furnish  invaluable 
matter  for  discriminative  extraction,  and  skillful  defecation  ; 
but  never,  even  to  the  last,  to  induce  any  discerning  mind, 
indiscriminately,  to  take  him  for  an  example,  or  to  rely  on 
him  as  a  guide. 

Mr.  Southey  has  remarked,  that  notwithstanding  Mr. 
Whitefield's  singular  powers  of  excitation,  his  discourses 
did  not  produce  the  same  violent  emotions  as  those  of 
Mr.  Wesley.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  reason  of 
this  difference,  it  remarkably  accorded  with  the  dissimilar 
results  of  their  respective  exertions.  Though  Mr.  Wesley 
was  in  every  respect  the  more  accomplished  person  ;  far 
excelling  his  fellow-laborer  as  a  scholar,  a  man  of  mental 
talent,  and  a  gentleman ;  still,  it  was  his  lot  to  work,  with 
few  exceptions,  comparatively,  on  the  lower,  if  not  the  low- 
est, classes ;  out  of  which,  almost  exclusively,  his  Society 
was  collected.  It  was  not,  therefore,  wholly  unsuitable 
that,  in  the  first  instance,  the  feelings  of  that  class  should 
be  roused  by  gross  and  palpable  means  ;  and,  however 
incongruously  those  agitations  and  swoonings  were  asso- 
ciated with  any  kind  of  Christian  preaching,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether,  all  things  considered,  the  primary 
nucleus  of  Wesleyan  Methodism  would  have  been  formed 
either  so  speedily  or  so  fermentingly,  if  the  first  impression 
on  its  component  members  had  been  more  rational  or  less 
sensitive. 

Mr.  Whitefield  (as  Mr.  Southey  has  noticed)  did  not,  like 
Mr.  Wesley,  aim  at  forming  regular  and  extended  societies  ; 
and,  however  powerfully  he  seemed  at  first  to  impress  the 
colliers  of  Kingswood,  his  permanent  disciples  belonged 
generally  to  the  more  decent  classes  ;  and,  at  length,  be- 
came conspicuous  among  the  higher  ranks  of  the  commu- 
nity. Whatever,  therefore,  was  the  cause  of  Mr.  White- 
field's  attractive  addresses  being  received  with  less  im- 
passioned emotion,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  striking 
suitableness  in  this  circumstance  to  the  particular  kind  of 
effect  which  was  to  follow  from  his  labors.  His  disciples 
were  not,  as  in  the  case  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  to  be 
subjugated  to  an  organized  system  of  practical  discipline, 
by  which  the  entire  course  of  life  was  not  only  morally 
but  circumstantially  to  be  controlled  and  molded.  He 
obviously  had  neither  talents  nor  inclination  for  embarking 
in  such  an  undertaking  ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  he  locked 


382 


REMARKS   ON  THE   LIFE  AND 


solely  to  the  decisive  influence  of  his  preaching  on  the 
dispositions  and  principles  of  his  hearers.  He  was  satis- 
fied with  producing  lasting  effects  in  their  minds  and 
hearts,  without  trenching  further  on  the  common  habits 
of  life  than  seemed  to  him  to  be  required  by  religious 
consistency. 

But  the  difference  of  manner  in  which  the  hearers  of 
those  two  remarkable  persons  were  affected  was,  perhaps, 
not  more  correspondent  to  their  different  plans  of  disciple- 
ship,  than  it  was  a  natural  consequence  of  the  dissimilarity 
which  existed  in  their  systems  of  instruction. 

Though  Mr.  Whitefield,  after  his  second  visit  to  America, 
diverged  from  Mr.  Wesley  more  professedly  than  before, 
their  lines  of  public  teaching  were  never  exactly  concord- 
ant. The  most  obvious  difference  lay  in  this  particular, 
that,  from  the  beginning,  Mr.  Whitefield's  preaching  had 
a  doctrinal  cast,  which  never  similarly  appeared  in  that  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  ;  and  those  primary  tendencies  became  fixed 
and  systematized  by  his  intercourse  with  American  Calvin- 
ists.  Hence,  the  religious  consolation  which  Mr.  White- 
field  urged  his  hearers  to  look  for,  was  to  consist  in  specu- 
lation, as  well  as  in  sensation  ;  in  supposed  truth,  to  be 
received  and  rested  in  by  their  understandings,  as  really  as 
in  perceptible  influences  animating  their  minds  and  en- 
gaging their  affections. 

John  Wesley,  on  the  other  hand,  however  at  his  com- 
mencement he  appeared  to  adopt  certain  resembling 
phrases,  confined  his  idea  of  spiritual  consolation  to  sen- 
sation alone.  He  protested  against  resting  the  hope  of 
salvation  on  any  speculative  ground ;  and  he  urged  on 
his  disciples  the  pursuit  and  expectation  of  an  internal 
revolution,  which  was  to  endue  them  with  spiritual  power 
over  sin,  and  consequent  peace  of  conscience.  Thus, 
and  thus  only,  were  they  to  be  assured  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  their  sins ;  their  practical  preservation  from  new 
guilt  being,  in  Mr.  Wesley's  judgment,  the  only  cer- 
tain evidence  that  their  former  guilt  was  effectually 
cancelled. 

Whatever  comparative  estimate  is  to  be  made  of  the 
two  different  methods  of  teaching,  one  thing  seems  prob- 
able, that  where  the  two  different  faculties  of  impassioned 
feeling  and  notional  apprehension  were  conjointly  engaged, 
the  force  of  the  former  would  be,  in  some  measure,  abated 
by  the  intermingled  action  of  the  latter,  and  the  consequent 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


383 


emotions  would  be  less  violent  than  where  the  discourse 
was  directed  solely  to  the  feelings. 

It  appears  indisputable  that  a  certain  fuel  of  religious 
sensation  is  deeply  lodged  in  man's  natural  constitution. 
It  may  not  be  equal,  even  originally,  in  all ;  but,  as  a 
native  property,  it  seems  never  to  be  w^holly  wanting.  It 
is,  of  course,  variously  modified  by  education  ;  and  is  liable 
to  be  repressed,  if  not  destroyed,  by  w^orldly  engagements, 
and  the  multiplied  seductions  of  common  life.  It  is,  ac- 
cordingly, most  observable  in  early  years  ;  though  it  may 
be  hoped  that,  in  numberless  instances,  it  grows  with 
growth,  and  making  alliance  with  reason,  through  the 
concurrent  blessing  of  Heaven,  goes  on  through  life,  add- 
ing animation  to  principle,  and  giving  wing  to  devotion. 
Considered,  however,  merely  as  a  natural  instinct,  it  is 
most  likely  to  retain  its  original  simplicity  without  im- 
provement, yet  still  without  abatement,  in  the  least  cultiva- 
ted classes  of  society ;  and  in  these,  particularly,  it  may  be 
expected  to  show  itself  in  those  mixed  emotions  mental 
and  animal  nature  which  are  conjointly  excitable  by  any 
strong  impression  on  the  imagination,  or  on  the  senses.  It 
would  seem  that,  however  barbarous  the  habits,  or  incon- 
siderate the  conduct,  this  moral  tinder  of  the  soul  may 
remain  in  unsuspected  readiness  to  rise  into  a  flame,  when 
such  a  lighted  match  is  applied  to  it  as  was  peculiarly 
exemplified  in  the  instance  of  John  Wesley. 

I  need  say  nothing  of  the  dangers  to  which  this  process 
was  exposed,  or  of  the  excesses  which,  in  the  case  before 
us,  it  actually  involved  ;  but  I  doubt  if,  in  point  of  fact, 
religious  emotions  were  ever  before,  in  modern  times,  so 
widely  extended  through  the  rude  multitude  as  by  Mr. 
Wesley's  labors.  And  yet  I  must  express  my  conviction, 
that  this  result  owed  nothing  to  premeditated  adaptation. 
Mr.  Wesley,  beyond  doubt,  deemed  himself  specially 
called  to  "preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor;"  yet  it  was 
only  by  terse  simplicity  of  diction,  and  lucid  arrangement 
of  matter,  that  he  sought  to  accommodate  himself  to  his 
illiterate  hearers.  The  views  which  he  pressed  upon 
them,  and  the  solicitude  he  wished  to  excite  in  them, 
were  strictly  those  of  his  own  mind  and  heart.  His  own 
religious  conceptions  were  simply  affectionate  and  practi- 
cal ;  and  he  honestly  thought  that  he  could  do  nothing 
better  for  others,  than  by  bringing  them  to  the  same  frame 
of  mind  of  which  he  himself  was  conscious. 


^84 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


It  is  also  to  be  remarked,  that  when  Mr.  Wesley  formed 
a  Society,  he  proceeded  exactly  on  the  same  principle  of 
sensible  excitement  which  characterized  his  public  ad- 
dresses ;  and,  accordingly,  from  its  origin  to  the  death  of 
its  founder,  Wesleyan  Methodism  was  no  other  than  an 
apparatus  for  cherishing  and  deepening  religious  sensation. 
And  though  Mr.  Wesley's  commencing  ardors  were  soon 
in  some  measure  corrected,  he  retained  to  the  last  the 
same  supreme  and,  in  some  sort,  exclusive  solicitude  for 
maintaining  in  his  disciples  those  affections  and  tempers  in 
which,  from  the  first,  with  a  singular  independence  on 
doctrinal  theory,  he  had  placed  the  essence  of  genuine  and 
vital  religion. 

When  Mr.  Wesley  entered  on  his  course,  he  neither 
understood  the  energies  he  was  exerting,  nor  the  effects 
he  was  producing.  He  was  not  aware  of  the  aptitude  of 
his  addresses  to  work  upon  the  natural  feelings  of  the 
human  mind  ;  nor  had  he  a  just  notion  of  that  inflamma- 
bihty  which  he  seemed  earnest  to  raise  to  a  conflagration. 
He  therefore  did  not  duly  estimate  the  too  probable  fallacy 
of  those  emotions,  whose  very  violence  seemed  to  portend 
their  speedy  termination  ;  nor  fully  apprehend  the  danger 
that,  where  there  was  constitutional  unsoundness  of  mind, 
the  result  might  be,  not  piety,  but  insanity.  Probably, 
what  he  soon  witnessed  in  both  respects  had  its  share  in 
bringing  him  to  less  sanguine  reckonings,  and  a  more  tem- 
perate style  of  exhortation. 

From  this  important  amendment  it  followed  that  the 
natural  attractiveness  of  Mr.  Wesley's  radical  principles 
came  more  fully  into  operation.  His  addresses  were  di- 
rected as  much  as  ever  to  the  innate  sensibilities  of  the 
soul,  but  far  less  to  the  natural  dread  of  misery,  and,  in 
fact,  prevalently  to  the  natural  desire  of  happiness.  Re- 
garding this  inextinguishable  appetite  of  the  inner  man  as 
no  other  than  an  instinctive  propension  toward  the  supreme 
good,  he  made  it  his  object  to  urge  vital  Christianity  as 
that  Divine  provision  in  which  alone  this  ceaseless  craving 
of  the  heart  could  find  satisfaction  and  repose.  I  am  far 
from  meaning  to  say  that  this  central  character  of  John 
Wesley's  teaching  was  not  obscured  by  many  of  its  accom- 
paniments ;  but  such  assuredly  was  the  point  at  which  he 
sincerely  and  uniformly  aimed  :  and  I  must  add,  that  I 
have  always  considered  his  cordial  pursuance  of  this  course 
as  constituting,  above  every  other  discernible  circumstance, 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


385 


tlie  remarkable  magnetism  by  which  both  his  public  and 
more  private  labors  were  so  lastingly  distinguished. 

However  impressive  Mr.  Whitefield  might  have  been  in 
his  manner,  or  however  popular  in  his  elocution,  his  dis- 
courses had  no  tendency  whatever  to  excite  the  same 
natural  interest  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  The  Calvin- 
istic  principles  which  he  had  embraced,  made  him  con- 
template mankind  as  under  a  universal  curse,  and  con- 
demned to  everlasting  misery ;  and  as  having  no  means  of 
escape  but  through  accepting  those  offers  of  Divine  mercy 
which  he  deemed  himself  commissioned,  as  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel,  to  proclaim.  He,  doubtless,  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  Divine  grace,  both  to  produce  that  faith  in  God's 
mercy  through  Christ,  on  which  he  insisted,  and  to  create 
a  disposition  to  obey  the  Divine  commandments.  But 
notwithstanding  this  honest  concern  for  the  moral  purposes 
of  the  Gospel,  the  benefit  which  he  propounded  was,  much 
rather  escape  from  misery,  than  acquisition  of  positive  hap- 
piness. Nor  was  the  misery  on  which  he  chiefly  dwelt  of 
that  moral  kind,  for  the  reality  of  which  an  appeal  might 
be  made  to  the  inward  feelings  of  every  rational  man  ;  but 
it  was  rather  such  a  misery  as,  itself,  depended  little  less 
on  doctrinal  belief  than  the  propounded  remedy.  The 
universal  corruption  flowing  from  the  first  transgression, 
he  doubtless  took  for  granted  and  assented  to ;  but  it  was 
the  imputation  of  that  transgression  to  every  descendant 
of  Adam  which,  in  Mr.  Whitefield's  view,  constituted  the 
height  of  human  wretchedness;  and,  by  parity  of  reason, 
the  imputed  righteousness  of  the  Redeemer  appeared  to 
him  the  primary  blessing  of  the  Gospel.  In  fact,  he  con- 
ceived that  in  this  one  blessing  every  other  was  insured, 
for  time  and  for  eternity. 

It  is  likely  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  not  at  first  fully  aware 
of  the  dissonance  between  Mr.  Whitefield's  doctrines  and 
his  own.  He  saw  what  he  regarded  as  most  desirable 
results ;  and  he  would  therefore  be  less  disposed  to  ani- 
madvert even  on  what  might  have  appeared  to  him  verbal 
improprieties  or  speculative  exaggerations.  Beside,  it 
was  only  when  he  began  to  correct  his  own  excesses  that 
he  would  have  been  disposed  to  notice  those  of  his  fellow- 
laborer,  whose  differences,  as  I  said,  were  less  substantial 
until  after  his  second  visit  to  America.  The  impression 
then  made  on  Mr.  Wesley  by  Mr.  Whitefield's  predestina* 
rian  zeal,  not  only  led  him  to  condemn,  in  that  respect,  the 

Vol.  1L— R 


386 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


preaching  of  his  colleague,  but  probably  served  to  incline 
him  to  a  more  decided  adoption  of  that  attractive  method, 
which,  henceforth  at  least,  formed  the  distinguishing  char- 
acter of  his  exhortations. 

Contemplating,  probably  more  than  ever  (from  that  con- 
troversy), the  infinite  philanthropy  of  God,  he  became 
more  than  ever  directly  intent  on  the  happiness  for  which 
such  a  creature  as  man  must  have  been  destined  by  such  a 
Creator.  He  accordingly  gave  himself  to  what  was,  in 
truth,  the  native  propension  of  his  mind ;  and,  like  Dry- 
den's  priest, 

"  He  taught  the  Gospel,  rather  than  the  Law ; 
He  forced  himself  to  drive,  but  lov'd  to  draw  : 
For  fear  but  freezes  minds ;  but  love,  like  heat, 
Exhorts  the  soul  sublime  to  seek  her  native  seat." 

Mr.  Whitefield  himself  was  not  more  convinced  of  the 
moral  morbidness  of  man's  natural  state,  nor  urged  with 
greater  earnestness  the  necessity  of  supernatural  grace,  to 
deliver  the  soul  from  its  native  and  too  generally  deepened 
enthralment,  and  to  reanimate  it  with  a  new  and  heavenly 
life.  But  Mr.  Wesley  mingled  with  these  truths  nothing 
which  was  to  be  taken  on  trust;  nor,  in  fact,  urged  any 
thing  which  he  did  not  think  was,  or  ought  to  be,  matter 
of  actual  experience. 

I  must  also  remark,  that  while  thus  averse  from  the 
gloom  of  the  Calvinist,  Mr.  Wesley  stood  little  less  aloof 
from  the  haze  of  the  mystic.  He  conceived,  not  that  the 
conscious  spirit  of  man  was  to  be  lost,  and,  as  it  were, 
annihilated  in  the  immensity  of  God,  but  that  it  was  to  be 
so  united  to  Him  in  love  afs  to  be  not  less  rationally  than 
morally  satisfied  with  His  infinite  fullness.  It  was,  in 
truth,  this  moral  enjoyment  of  God,  and  the  moral  assimi- 
lation essential  to  such  beatitude,  which  held  the  supreme 
place  in  all  Mr.  Wesley's  aspirations  for  others,  or  for 
himself ;  and  while  I  freely  acknowledge  the  nebulous 
accompaniments  of  his  brightest  radiations,  I  can  not  but 
attach  inexpressible  value  and  importance  to  such  a  testi- 
mony, from  such  a  personage. 

I  already  remarked  that  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  originally 
trained  in  the  school  of  our  most  illustrious  Church-of- 
England  divines ;  and  doubtless  it  was  from  them  that  he 
imbibed  those  pure  principles  of  Christian  morality  which 
subsequent  impressions,  for  a  time,  might  have  somewhat 
concealed,  but  would  in  no  wise  impair,  and  which,  as  if 


CHAHACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


887 


from  their  own  intrinsic  force,  so  very  soon  regained  their 
due  ascendency  in  his  own  breast,  and  in  all  his  public 
addresses. 

That  this  rationality  of  religion  should  so  signally  keep 
its  hold,  through  such  seemingly  contrarious  movements, 
and  amid  so  many  hostile  influences,  is  probably  as  strong 
an  exemplification  of  its  own  essential  soundness  as  human 
experience  could  afford.  The  fact  was,  that  this  paramount 
principle  had,  in  the  first  instance,  attracted  the  heart  of 
John  Wesley;  and  as  the  strength  of  his  moral  nature  lay 
there,  far  more  than  in  his  understanding  or  his  imagina- 
tion, the  enshrined  treasure  was  both  too  solid  in  itself, 
and  too  firmly  fixed,  to  be  either  injured  or  disturbed  by 
the  errors  of  the  one  or  the  illusions  of  the  other. 

The  consequence  has  been,  that  by  whatever  imperfec- 
tions or  hallucinations  his  writings  may  be  blemished,  the 
most  genuine  elements  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  are 
to  be  found  in  them,  not  only  in  an  easily  separable  form, 
but,  as  it  has  appeared  to  me,  when  separated  and  system- 
atized, possessing  a  consistency  and  plenitude  of  practical 
Christian  truth,  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  equally  furnished  by 
any  other  modern  writer.  The  same  principles  have,  I 
confess,  been  repeatedly  maintained.  They  are  (as  I  have 
intimated  above,  and  more  than  once  ventured  to  assert), 
in  substance,  those  of  our  most  celebrated  Church-of-Eng- 
land  divines.  But  in  these  latter  there  is  generally  some 
questionable  admixture,  which  either  obscures  the  bright- 
ness or  abates  the  energy  of  the  truths  which  they  are  so- 
licitous to  maintain.  If  the  dogmas  of  Calvin  are  ever  so 
completely  rejected,  there  is  seldom  an  equal  exemption 
from  the  opposite  excesses  of  Pelagius  in  earlier,  or  of 
Episcopius  in  later  times.  It  would  appear,  perhaps,  to  have 
been  reserved  for  J  ohn  Wesley  to  draw  a  strictly  definitive 
line  between  the  one  class  of  misconceptions  and  the  other. 

The  desideratum,  I  should  think,  was  a  precise  distinc- 
tion between  the  supposed  irresistibility  of  divine  grace, 
maintained  by  Augustin  and  Calvin,  and  that  effective  energy 
which  is  so  clearly  asserted  throughout  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  so  evidently  accordant  to  man's  moral  exigences. 
This  latter  it  was  far  from  the  purpose  of  the  excellent 
writers  whom  I  have  in  view  to  dispute.  Doubtless  they 
regarded  the  assurance  of  divine  influence  as  a  most  con- 
solatory feature  in  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  have 
spoken  largely  of  the  grace  of  God  as  certainly  cooperating 


388 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


with  all  sincere  efforts  of  self-correction.  But  in  compar- 
atively few  instances  (though,  happily,  such  are  to  be 
named)  have  they  adverted  explicitly  to  those  cheering  and 
strengthening  communications  which  are  to  be  obtained  by 
fervent  prayer ;  and  by  which,  when  consciously  felt,  the 
devout  person  may  know,  not  enthusiastically,  but  with 
moral  certainty,  that  he  has  not  prayed  in  vain.  It  was 
their  dwelling  so  much  on  internal  consolations  which  gave 
their  chief  charm  to  Calvinistic  authors,  in  so  many  serious 
minds.  In  John  Wesley's  scheme  of  practical  religion — 
I  will  not  say  for  the  very  first  time,  but,  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  in  a  degree  and  manner  not  equalled  before — the 
same  demand  of  the  heart  is  provided  for,  on  principles  not 
less  consonant  to  sound  philosophy  than  to  sacred  Scrip- 
ture ;  nor  to  the  feelings  of  human  nature,  than  to  the  so- 
licitudes of  awakened  conscience. 

This  remarkable  separation  of  Christian  and  catholic 
truth  from  dogmatical  envelopments,  appears  to  me  as  at 
least  one  great  object  of  John  Wesley's  providential  mis- 
sion. Though  he  himself  had  uniformly  rejected  the  pe- 
culiarities of  Calvin,  he  for  a  time  was  imbued  with  the 
doctrines  of  Luther,  on  those  points  in  which  especially  the 
German  and  Swiss  reformers  were  agreed  :  but  Mr.  Wes- 
ley came  at  length  to  see  that  the  view  of  justification 
maintained  by  the  one  was  as  unessential  as  that  of  pre- 
destination, contended  for  by  the  other,  was  inadmissible. 
Being  thus  liberated  from  all  fetters  of  mere  human  theol- 
ogy, he  deliglited  to  contemplate  practical  Christianity  as 
consisting  solely  of  powerful  principles  and  purified  affec- 
tions ;  while,  by  his  exact  and  cordial  retention  of  every 
catholic  verity,  no  shadow  of  risk  was  incurred,  that  those 
principles  should  want  adequate  sustenance,  or  those  af- 
fections be  without  the  means  of  safe  and  genuine  devotional 
elevation. 

Such  a  service,  therefore,  to  the  cause  of  Christian  faith 
and  piety,  as  I  already  intimated,  I  must  regard  as  inesti- 
mable. In  Christianity  thus  represented,  there  is  nothing 
whatever  to  perplex  the  weak,  to  afford  matter  of  cavil  to 
the  skeptic,  or  of  apparent  triumph  to  the  infidel.  What- 
ever mysteries  may  he  necessarily  inherent  in  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  Christian  dispensation,  nothing,  in  John 
Wesley's  view,  is  demanded  from  our  understandings,  or 
our  hearts,  but  what  corresponds  to  our  moral  circum- 
stances, and  is  conducive  to  our  moral  happiness.    It  is,  in 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


389 


a  word,  the  strict  proportion  (as  it  seems  to  me,  without 
excess  or  defect)  of  the  provisions  of  Christianity  to  man's 
exigences  and  capacities,  as  an  intelligent  and  immortal, 
but  diseased  and  corrupted  creature,  that  I  so  much  admire 
in  my  old  friend's  most  matured  theology. 

Still,  however,  it  is  not  merely,  or  even  chiefly,  to  the 
matter  of  this  testimony  that  I  attach  the  importance  of 
John  Wesley's  providential  agency.  The  same  discrimi- 
native line  which  he  drew  in  his  later  scheme  of  doctrine, 
had  been  drawn  by  some  before  him,  as  I  have  intimated, 
however  few  in  number.  But  there  was  nothing  in  the 
case  of  those  wise  and  excellent  persons  to  make  the  tem- 
perament which  they  maintained  a  matter  of  necessary  im- 
pressiveness,  and  of  wide  and  lasting  notoriety ;  whereas^, 
in  the  instance  of  Mr.  Wesley,  these  results  appear  to  have 
to  have  been  as  infallibly  secured  as  was  possible  in  the 
course  of  human  events. 

His  commencing  ardor  (and,  indeed,  the  whole  career 
of  his  subsequent  life)  could  not  fail  to  draw  upon  him  the 
charge  of  enthusiastic  zeal  from  the  astonished  public;  while, 
from  the  fact  of  his  first  labors  as  a  field  and  street  preacher 
being  in  close  conjunction  with  those  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  it 
was  natural  to  conclude  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  as  much 
agreed  with  his  colleague  in  theological  principles  as  in  the 
singularity  of  their  joint  exertions.  It  must,  therefore,  I 
conceive,  have  excited  unspeakable  surprise  that  the  Cal- 
vinism of  Mr.  Whitefield  should  have  found  in  his  devoted 
fellow-laborer  an  equally  determined  and  powerful  antag- 
onist. From  no  other  quarter,  assuredly,  could  so  singular 
a  promulgation  of  that  gloomy  and  repulsive  scheme  have 
met  so  opportune  and  efiicient  an  opposition  :  nor  was  it 
possible  that  so  weighty  a  protest  could  be  made  against 
it,  as  by  one  who  was  as  zealous  as  Mr.  Whitefield  himself 
in  pursuing  the  conversion  of  his  fellow-creatures ;  and 
whose  success  in  that  pursuit  was  at  least  as  signal,  and 
evidently  much  more  extensive. 

It  had  been  in  its  supposed  connection  with  exactly  such 
results  that  probably  the  chief  practical  strength  of  Cal- 
vinism consisted.  It  had  been  the  persuasion  of  its  disci- 
ples, that  their  peculiar  principles  were  those  alone  by 
which  the  stubborn  heart  of  man  could  be  effectually  sub- 
dued, and  brought  unreservedly  to  submit  itself  to  the  grace 
of  the  Gospel.  This  prepossession  was  not  to  be  confuted 
by  mere  argument.    As  long  as  it  kept  its  footing,  the 


390 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


question  could  not  be  regarded  as  theoretical,  but  as  affect 
ing  the  great  concern  of  salvation.  How,  then,  was  such 
a  rooted  prejudice  to  be  dislodged,  except  by  such  a  force 
as  John  Wesley,  above  all  who  before  had  made  a  like  at- 
tack, was  qualified  to  bring  against  it  ]  He  could  foil  its 
champions  with  their  own  weapons,  and  combat  them  on 
their  own  ground;  since  the  facts  substantiated  in  the 
course  of  his  labors  afforded  irrefragable  evidence  that 
what  had  been  looked  for,  from  Calvinistic  doctrines  alone 
could  be  as  fully  attained,  not  only  where  those  doctrines 
were  omitted,  but  where  they  were  opposed  and  rejected. 

The  dogmas  of  Luther,  and  the  more  deeply-constructed 
theories  of  Calvin,  had  probably  been  permitted  to  connect 
themselves  with  the  pure  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  in  order 
the  better  to  accommodate  those  doctrines  to  the  apprehen- 
sion of  obscure  and  narrow  minds;  just  as  Christianity 
itself,  in  its  whole  external  exhibition,  had  been  permitted 
to  assume  a  corporeal  character,  and  to  merge  into  a  sort 
of  renewed  Judaism,  as  if  in  condescension  to  the  gross 
perceptions  and  barbarous  habits  of  the  Northern  invaders, 
and  their  long-uncultivated  posterity.  But  it  was  not  un- 
reasonable to  expect,  that  when  a  fit  time  should  arrive, 
providential  means  would  be  afforded  for  disencumbering 
evangelical  faith  and  piety  of  their  metaphysical,  no  less 
than  of  their  physical  envelopments.  Am  I  then  very  ex- 
travagant in  supposing  that  as  Luther  seems  to  have  been 
raised  in  Germany,  three  hundred  years  ago,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  commencing  that  earlier  service  ;  so  John  Wesley 
may,  in  like  manner,  have  been  an  instrument  of  Provi- 
dence, employed  at  the  proper  season,  and  under  most 
wisely-adjusted  circumstances,  for  severing,  by  successive 
strokes,  the  strongest  ligatures  of  the  metaphysical  veil,  in 
order  that  our  holy  religion  might  at  length  be  contem- 
plated in  all  its  unblemished  and  undisguised  loveliness  % 

From  the  first  softening  of  Mr.  Wesley's  tone,  he  can  not 
be  charged  with  relapsing  into  his  commencing  severity. 
Yet  it  was  not  until  after  six-and-twenty  years  that,  as  it 
should  seem,  in  somewhat  of  a  revolutionary  way,  he  threw 
off  all  the  trammels  of  dogmatical  theology,  and  rose  to  that 
cloudless  expansion  of  Christian  liberality  from  which  he 
never  afterward  consciously  receded.  I  more  particularly 
advert  to  the  crisis  in  Mr.  Wesley's  course,  which  thus 
finally  settled  his  theological  creed,  because  it  may  possi- 
bly have  escaped  Mr.  Southey's  special  notice  ;  and  yet, 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


391 


when  led  to  revert  to  it,  he  may  deem  it  not  unworthy  of  his 
attention.    I  copy  the  passage,  verbatim,  from  his  Journal. 

"  December  1.  (1767).  Being  alone  in  the  coach,  I  was 
considering  several  points  of  importance ;  and  thus  much 
appeared  clear  as  the  day. 

"  That  a  man  may  be  saved  who  can  not  express  him- 
self properly  concerning  imputed  righteousness ;  therefore 
to  do  this  is  not  necessary  to  salvation. 

"  That  a  man  may  be  saved  who  has  not  clear  concep- 
tions of  it,  yea,  that  never  heard  the  phrase  ;  therefore 
clear  conceptions  of  it  are  not  necessary  to  salvation ;  yea, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  use  the  phrase  at  all. 

"  That  a  pious  Churchman,  who  has  not  clear  concep- 
tions even  of  justification  by  faith,  may  be  saved  ;  therefore 
clear  conceptions  even  of  this  are  not  necessary  to  salvation. 

"  That  a  mystic,  who  denies  justification  by  faith  (Mr. 
Law,  for  instance),  may  be  saved.  But  if  so,  what  becomes 
of  Articulus  stantis  vel  cadentis  Ecclesiae  ?  If  so,  is  it  not 
high  time  for  us — 

Projicere  ampullas,  et  sesquipedalia  verba. 

And  to  return  to  the  plain  word.  He  that  feareth  God  and 
worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him." 

I  have  transcribed  the  whole  of  this  remarkable  record, 
as  it  so  distinctly  marks  the  course  of  thought  through 
which  Mr.  Wesley  arrived  at  a  conclusion,  not  more  satis- 
factory at  the  time  to  his  understanding,  than  ever  after- 
ward predominant  in  his  preaching  and  writing.  Its  most 
signal  result  was  that  of  the  celebrated  Minutes  of  Confer- 
ence, in  1770,  which  powerfully  proved  that  Mr.  Wesley's 
enlarged  views  tended  as  much  to  increase  the  exactness 
of  his  practical  principles,  as  to  enlarge  the  range  of  his 
Christian  philanthropy.  The  assistance  which  he  received 
in  the  warfare,  excited  by  the  frank  disclosure  of  his  views, 
from  his  wonderful  auxiliary  Mr.  Fletcher,  certainly  ap- 
peared to  himself,  and  doubtless  to  many  beside  him,  as 
the  very  stamp  and  signature  of  Divine  Providence  on  the 
course  which  he  had  seen  it  his  duty  to  pursue.  By  the  ex- 
traordinary aid  thus  afforded  him,  he  was,  if  that  were  pos- 
sible, more  than  ever  confirmed  in  the  conclusions  he  had 
formed  ;  and,  in  fact,  such  additional  light  was  thrown  upon 
his  path  as  precluded  all  liability  to  subsequent  vacillation. 

From  this  conjoint  testimony  against  Calvinistic  excess- 
es, an  effect  of  some  importance  seems  already  to  have 


392 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


arisen  in  what  is  called  the  religious  world.  The  class 
which  accounts  itself  evangelical  has,  for  some  length  of 
time,  generally  shrunk  back  from  explicitly  propounding 
the  more  revolting  features  of  their  system  ;  and  most  of 
those  persons  seem  ashamed  to  admit  what,  nevertheless, 
their  received  system  does  not  allow  them  to  deny.  While 
they  maintain  the  sovereign  exercise  of  distinguishing  grace 
in  all  who  are  saved,  they  seem  desirous  to  shut  their  eyes 
against  the  equally  sovereign  dereliction  of  all  beside.  But 
this  is  a  point  at  which  common  sense  can  not  long  suffer 
them  to  stop,  and  the  speculative  Antinomianism  which  be- 
gins to  prevail  among  warmer  dogmatists  will  probably 
compel  their  more  sober  brethren  to  trace  to  the  true  cause 
those  evils  which,  however  sincerely  deplored  by  them, 
they  must  at  length  discover  to  be  invincible  on  Calvinistic 
principles.  When  upright  Christians  become  convinced 
of  this  fact,  they  will  not  be  long  in  determining  whether 
they  are  to  relinquish  Calvinism  or  practical  Christianity. 

For  such  a  conjuncture,  I  can  not  conceive  a  more  suita- 
ble provision  than  that  which  has  been  furnished  by  the 
joint  labors  of  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Fletcher.  To  the  zeal- 
ous Calvinists  of  their  own  days  they  were  no  doubt  very 
obnoxious  :  but  their  personal  characters,  which  some  con- 
tinued to  revere  even  in  the  heat  of  theological  contest, 
seem  to  be  held,  by  later  evangelics,  in  high  estimation. 
Hence  their  doctrines  will  more  readily  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  such  persons,  in  proportion  as  they  become  suspi- 
cious of  their  own.  Whether  something  of  this  kind  may 
not  have  been  proceeding  already  in  many  individual  minds, 
I  can  not  venture  to  decide ;  but  neither  can  I  account  it 
by  any  means  improbable. 

Certain  it  is,  that  the  present  soi-disant  evangelic  system 
having  itself  grown  out  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  Methodism,  is 
still,  in  spite  of  doctrinal  differences,  a  species  of  the  same 
genus  with  the  Methodism  of  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  hence  it 
follows,  that,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  the  extraordinary 
movement  distinguished  by  that  general  appellation  has  had 
within  itself  a  twofold  provision  ; — one,  for  reviving  the 
very  same  religions  spirit  which  had  so  powerfully  operated 
in  England  a  hundred  years  before;  the  other,  for  oppos- 
ing to  that  spirit  a  corrective,  and,  in  some  sort,  antagonistic 
principle,  fitted  the  more  to  its  specific  purpose  by  possess- 
ing so  much  of  apparent  congeniality. 

How  much  the  entire  apparatus  has  served  to  rouse  the 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


393 


religious  feelings  of  the  British  public,  is  at  this  day  matter 
of  notoriety,  not  to  England  only,  but  to  every  observant 
portion  of  Europe  and  of  the  world.  When,  therefore,  it 
is  considered,  in  the  light  of  former  events,  to  what  hazards 
the  rational  and  moral  character  of  our  holy  religion  might 
have  been  exposed,  through  the  unrestrained  ascendency 
of  Calvinistic  theology,  I  conceive  it  must  appear,  to  serious 
and  unbiassed  minds,  as  an  admirable  order  of  Providence, 
that  a  counterpoise  to  that  ascendency,  so  proportioned  to 
the  occasion,  and  notwithstanding  its  circumstantial  blem- 
ishes, so  possessed  of  intrinsic  excellence,  should  have  been 
concurrently  afforded. 

In  thus  estimating  the  importance  of  John  Wesley's 
services,  I  think  I  see  much  reason  why  the  particular 
course  which  he  pursued,  marked  as  it  was  with  strange 
peculiarities,  should  have  been  providentially  permitted. 
Had,  as  I  before  observed,  his  prudence  been  greater,  or 
his  ardor  less,  he  would  not  have  accomplished  the  same 
work,  nor  risen  to  the  same  eminence.  Yet,  had  he  been 
less  distinguished  in  these  respects,  there  would  have  been 
a  proportional  want  of  force  in  that  anti-Calvinistic  testi- 
mony, the  braving  of  which,  as  he  actually  bore  it,  seems 
to  have  been  his  peculiar  destination,  it  might  almost  be 
said,  from  his  very  birth,  there  being  even  in  his  parentage 
and  earliest  training  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  singu- 
larly fitted  to  predispose  him  for  such  an  ultimate  purpose. 

I  must  once  more  observe,  that  in  thus  appreciating  the 
happier  features  of  Mr.  Wesley's  character,  I  always  have 
before  me  those  exceptionable  concomitants,  which,  though 
no  longer  urged  by  him,  were  never  substantially  relin- 
quished. I  will  mention  twOy  which  have  appeared  to  me 
the  most  material. 

The  first  is,  his  notion  of  the  witness  of  the  Spirit ;  for 
which,  however,  he  has  produced  but  one  single  verse  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (viii.  16),  the  construction  of 
which  he  has  really,  though,  I  am  certain,  unconsciously, 
forced  to  his  purpose.*    At  the  same  time,  he  propounds 

*  Mr.  Wesley,  in  commenting  on  Romans,  viii.  16,  ventures  to  assert 
that  the  preposition  avv  in  the  compounded  verb  avixfiaprvpel  merely 
denotes  sameness  of  time;  and  he  accordingly  translates  tcj  Trvevfiari 
Tjudv,  not  as  in  our  authorized  version,  with,  but  to,  our  spirit.  But 
had  he  allowed  himself  to  examine  those  other  numerous  instances  in 
which  the  same  preposition  similarly  occurs,  he  would  at  least  have 
found  the  balance  so  clearly  against  him,  as  to  discountenance  his 
change  of  translation. 


394 


REMARKS  ON   THE  LIFE  AND 


his  sentiment  with  diffidence,  probably  because,  as  appears 
from  Mr.  Whitefield's  letter  already  referred  to,  it  was  not 
supported  by  his  own  actual  feeling.  His  words  are  : 
"  Pei-haps  one  might  say  (desiring  any  who  are  taught  of 
God  to  correct,  to  soften,  or  strengthen  the  expression) 
the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  an  inward  impression  on  the 
soul,  whereby  the  Spirit  of  God  directly  witnesses  to  my 
spirit  that  I  am  a  child  of  God." 

It  has  always  been  my  persuasion,  that,  by  admitting 
this  definition  of  the  fiaprvQLa  kv  eavrio,  which  the  faith- 
ful Christian  is  encouraged  to  expect,  Mr.  Wesley  opened 
a  door  for  self-delusion,  and  even  for  practical  deficiency, 
against  which  his  utmost  moral  zeal  could  afford  no  ade- 
quate security.  It  was,  I  think,  one  of  the  strongest  in- 
stances of  his  limited  perception,  not  to  see  that  there  was 
no  criterion  by  which  such  "  an  inward  impression  on  the 
soul"  could  be  infallibly  proved,  even  to  its  possessor,  to 
come  "  directly"  from  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  that  no  im- 
pressions on  the  soul,  except  those  which  are  essentially 
moral,  can,  with  either  certainty  or  sobriety,  be  ascribed 
to  that  adorable  agency,  the  moral  part  of  onr  nature  being 
that  alone  with  the  laws  of  which  we  can  become  compe- 
tently acquainted. 

No  part  of  Mr.  Wesley's  doctrine,  however,  seems  to 
have  been  more  acceptable  to  his  own  people  than  what 
they  called  "  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit ;"  and,  prob- 
ably, he  rather  learned  it  from  them,  than  they  from  him. 
His  own  internal  feelings,  it  has  appeared,  did  not  uige 
him  to  insist  on  it ;  but  if  any  number  of  his  disciples  con- 
curred in  asserting  that  such  an  impression  had  been  made 
on  their  minds,  that  it  continued, with  them,  and  formed  the 
chief  source  of  their  spiritual  happiness,  it  was  just  such  a 
testimony,  both  in  matter  and  manner,  as  John  Wesley 
was  ever  prone  to  receive ;  and  thus,  I  imagine,  he  was 
early  induced  to  adopt  what,  even  when  most  advanced  in 
sober  judgment,  he  might  consider  too  closely  connected 
with  the  spiritual  comfort  of  numbers  (on  whom,  perhaps, 
among  his  followers,  he  placed  the  highest  value)  to  admit 
of  being  safely  questioned. 

That  which  most  surprises  me,  is,  that  he  did  not  dis- 
cover the  tendency  of  such  a  notion  to  impede  that  moral 
progress,  for  which  he  was  chiefiy  solicitous.  It  was  ob- 
vious, that  as  long  as  any  person  supposed  himself  to  pos- 
sess this  testimony  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  would  account 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


395 


himself  secure  of  salvation  ;  and  yet  the  feeling  thus  relied 
upon,  being  not  of  a  moral,  but  strictly  of  a  sensitive 
nature,  it  might  seem  to  remain,  in  spite  of  very  real 
moral  declension  ;  which,  however,  would  naturally  be 
less  attended  to,  while  evidence  of  spiritual  safety  was 
thought  to  be  still  afforded  from  an  infallible  quarter. 
Had  Mr.  Wesley  ventured  to  examine  into  this  fact,  I 
suspect  he  would  have  been  obliged,  on  his  own  moral 
principles,  to  doubt  at  least  the  soundness  of  his  confi- 
dence in  that  supposed  assurance.  But  the  truth  is,  that 
such  a  summary  way  of  obtaining  spiritual  peace  and  con- 
solation was  peculiarly  suitable  to  such  sensitive  minds  as 
those  with  whom  he  was  principally  concerned,  and  his  in- 
fluence upon  whom  might  have  been  in  every  way  more 
limited,  had  he  been  less  credulous  respecting  such  inward 
persuasions.  It  is  remarkable  that,  to  this  hour,  the  "  direct 
witness  of  the  Spirit"  is  as  much  as  ever  maintained  by  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists,  while  they  seem  very  little  disposed 
to  insist  upon  those  more  enlarged  views  which  I  have 
supposed  to  give  increased  interest  to  Mr.  Wesley's  later 
labors. 

The  other  uncorrected  notion  to  which  I  referred,  was, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  an  inexplicable  confusion  in  his  view 
of  the  manner  in  which  faith  is  conducive  to  spiritual  sal- 
vation. While  he  did  not  fail  to  describe  faith  (in  accord- 
ance with  the  best  divines)  as  a  grace  of  God's  Holy  Spirit, 
which  enables  us  to  apprehend  spiritual  and  eternal  things 
with  practical  interest  and  predominant  affection,  he  never- 
theless taught  that,  by  an  exertion  of  faith,  a  mourning  peni- 
tent might  as  it  were  transport  himself  into  a  state  of  mental 
peace  and  comfort ;  and  an  imperfect  Christian,  combating 
with  his  corruption,  advance  himself,  in  like  manner,  to 
spiritual  victory  and  settled  rest.  More  than  forty  years 
ago,  my  persuasion  of  the  delusive  tendency  of  this  doc- 
trine induced  me  to  offer  my  thoughts  to  Mr.  Wesley  on 
the  subject.  But  though  I  received  from  him  two  letters 
in  reply,  I  could  only  conclude  that  he  felt  himself  in  a 
mist,  from  which  he  had  no  power  of  emerging.  He  did 
not  deny  that  his  view  involved  difficulty,  but  looked  for 
its  solution  only  in  another  world. 

Mr.  Wesley  most  probably  derived  his  opinion  respect- 
ing'the  effective  exertion  of  faith  from  the  Lutheran  sys- 
tem, to  which,  for  a  time,  he  was  attached.  The  Augsburg 
Confession  says  that  men  are  justified    coram  Deo  cum  ere- 


396 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


dunt  se  ingratiam  recipi  et  peccata  remiiti  propter  Christum, 
qui  sua  moite  pro  iiostris  peccatis  satisfecit;"  and  it  so 
happened  that  in  one  particular  sentence,  the  Homily  of 
Salvation  appeared  to  favor  that  definition,  by  describing 
the  true  faith  of  a  Christian  as  a  "  sure  trust  and  confidence 
in  God,  that  by  the  merits  of  Christ  his  sins  are  forgiven, 
and  he  reconciled  to  the  favor  of  God."  Accordingly,  of 
these  latter  words  John  Wesley  took  special  hold,  and  for 
many  years  quoted  them  on  all  occasions,  as  expressing 
the  exact  doctrine  on  which  he  then  insisted.  At  length 
he  became  less  fond  of  them  :  and  after  his  honestly- 
avowed  "  return  to  the  plain  word,"  probably  never  once 
repeated  them. 

When,  however,  he  was  under  the  full  influence  of  that 
Lutheran  dogma,  it  was  a  natural  result  in  so  ardent  a 
mind,  that  he  should  urge  his  penitent  disciples  to  exert  a 
"  trust  and  confidence,"  on  which  immediate  acceptance 
with  God  was  thought  to  depend.  So  long  as  he  imagined 
that  the  two  states  of  Divine  wrath  and  Divine  favor  were 
separated  as  if  by  a  mathematical  Hne,  and  that  the  transit 
from  one  to  the  other  was  to  be  effected  by  some  sort  of 
mental  effort,  it  followed  of  course  that  he  should  exhort 
to  the  making  of  that  effort ;  nor  could  he  have  consistent- 
ly ceased  from  this  endeavor,  until  he  became  persuaded 
that  there  was  really  no  such  marked  transition,  as  he  had 
supposed,  from  a  state  of  condemnation  to  a  state  of  favor  : 
but  that  "  whosoever  feared  God  and  wrought  righteous- 
ness according  to  his  providential  light,  was  at  that  very 
moment  in  a  state  of  acceptance,"  and  consequently  that 
"  the  wrath  of  God"  no  longer  abode  upon  him. 

It  might  indeed  seem  strange,  that  when  Mr.  Wesley 
went  so  far,  he  did  not  still  go  further,  and  wholly  relin- 
quish the  notion  of  that  exertion  of  faith,  for  which,  on  his 
more  enlarged  principle,  there  was  no  longer  the  same 
necessity,  nor,  strictly,  the  same  room.  But  the  progress 
of  his  understanding  was  not  proportioned  to  the  expan- 
sion of  his  heart;  and  instantaneous  transitions  had  entered 
so  deeply  into  the  religious  views  of  his  people,  that  his 
mere  concern  for  their  spiritual  safety  might  have  inspired 
a  dread  of  admitting,  even  in  his  own  mind,  that  such 
transitions  were  unimportant.  What,  therefore,  he  had 
once  insisted  on,  as  the  means  of  passing  from  a  state  of 
wrath  to  a  state  of  acceptance,  he  still  continued  to  repre- 
sent, but  certainly  with  much  less  intensity,  as  the  best 


CHAUACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


S97 


method  of  advancing  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  degree  in 
the  spiritual  life,  or,  as  he  himself  termed  it  (I  should  think 
not  in  all  respects  improperly),  from  the  condition  of  a  serv- 
ant of  God  to  that  of  a  child  of  God ;  in  other  words, 
from  the  state  of  obeying  God  sincerely  and  conscientiously, 
to  that  of  supreme  pleasure  and  delight  in  His  service. 
Thus  it  was,  that  in  softening  the  severity  of  his  former 
doctrine  (without  a  shade  of  conscious  duplicity),  he  gave 
no  actual  disturbance  to  the  prepossessions  of  his  people. 
They,  on  the  other  hand,  expressed  no  dissatisfaction  with 
his  liberalized  principles,  which  probably  they  did  not 
entirely  understand ;  and  they  exulted  in  the  triumphs 
obtained  for  him  over  his  Calvinistic  adversaries  by  his 
distinguished  auxiliary :  but  their  habits  of  mind  under- 
went no  change ;  the  internal  peculiarities  of  the  system, 
with  all  their  practical  consequences,  remaining  substan- 
tially what  they  had  been  from  the  beginning. 

Of  these  peculiarities  the  persuasion  that  spiritual  bless- 
ings are  to  be  obtained  by  a  "  sure  trust  and  confidence" 
in  their  actual  and  immediate  communication,  seems  not 
the  least  likely  to  involve  danger  of  illusion  and  instability. 
This  opinion,  therefore,  and  that  respecting  "  the  direct 
witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  I  have  always  been  inclined 
to  consider  as  the  two  most  exceptionable  points  in  the 
theology  of  Wesleyan  Methodists ;  which,  though  they 
have  not,  in  '*  honest  and  good  hearts,"  prevented  the 
sincerity  of  Christian  piety,  could  not  but  materially  ob- 
struct its  rationality  and  solidity  ;  while  it  can  hardly  be 
doubted  that  the  evanescence  of  religious  ardor,  for  the 
frequency  of  which  Wesleyan  Methodism  seems  to  have 
been  remarkable,  even  as  compared  with  similar  bodies, 
has  peculiarly  arisen  from  the  importance  attached  to 
instantaneous  impressions  and  equivocal  emotions. 

Here,  however,  I  venture  to  repeat  the  observation,  that 
the  providential  purposes  of  Wesleyan  Methodism  might 
not  have  been  equally  provided  for,  had  the  system  been 
less  imperfect.  Being,  as  I  have  remarked,  a  scheme,  not 
of  doctrinal  theory,  but  of  devotional  excitement,  and  ap- 
parently designed  to  make  its  way  among  those  who  had 
little  other  than  animal  sensibilities,  even  the  two  notions 
last  adverted  to,  exceptionable  as  they  are  in  themselves, 
might  nevertheless  have  been  necessary  to  its  destined 
operation.  It  is  obvious  that  sensitive  minds  could  be 
engaged  only  by  impressions  suited  to  their  gross  appre- 


398 


REMARKS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


heiisions ;  and  therefore,  if  it  was  the  will  of  Providence 
that  a  practical  attention  to  religion  should  be  strongly  and 
widely  excited  in  that  very  class  of  minds,  might  it  not  be 
indispensable  that  more  palpable  conceptions  of  the  object 
should  supply  the  place  of  intellectual  and  moral  discern- 
ment 1 

I  confess  I  am  the  more  disposed  to  admit  the  idea  of 
such  providential  accommodations,  from  a  long  received 
conviction  that  the  Christian  dispensation,  though  perfectly 
and  immutably  defined  in  the  New  Testament,  yet  in  its 
actual  development,  was  intended  to  be  progressive,  and 
for  that  reason,  in  its  various  and  successive  movements 
was  left,  as  it  were,  to  modify  itself  to  existing  capacities 
and  the  specific  exigences  of  the  occasion.  That  hu-man 
society  is  itself  progressive,  in  all  that  relates  to  the  com- 
fort and  enjoyment  of  this  mortal  life,  can  not  be  doubted  ; 
and  if  the  exercise  of  intellect  has  not  intrinsically  improved, 
its  field  of  action  has  been  widely  extended  ;  and  intel- 
lectual activity  having,  for  the  three  last  centuries  particu- 
larly, advanced  more  and  more,  now  rolls  onward  as  if 
with  the  force  of  a  torrent.  That  the  operative  energies 
of  Christianity,  that  last  and  best  gift  to  man,  and  his  ap- 
propriate endowment  for  immortality,  should  likewise  mani- 
fest in  some  way  an  adaptation  to  the  general  course  of 
human  circumstances,  would  be  a  matter  of  obvious  proba- 
bility, if  even  the  persuasion  were  not  warranted  by  express 
and  infallible  notifications  of  the  principles  actually  pro- 
ceeded upon  in  the  great  economy  of  salvation. 

Of  the  nature  of  those  principles  we  have  certain  evi- 
dence, and  full  exemplification,  in  the  profoundly  ordered 
succession  of  the  three  dispensations,  Patriarchal,  Mosaic, 
and  Christian.  We  can  not  doubt  that  this  arrangement 
was  exactly  proportioned  to  the  advancing  capabilities  of 
human  society,  and  that  the  Christian  revelation  was  de- 
layed merely  because  what  St.  Paul  has  called  rd  nXrjpG)[ja 
Tov  xpo^ov*  had  not  yet  arrived.  And  yet,  while  (not- 
withstanding our  short-sightedness)  we  see  many  powerful 
reasons  why  that  particular  time  should  have  been  chosen, 
the  event  has  shown  that  it  was  a  suitable  season  only  for 
the  introduction  of  Christianity,  but  by  no  means  for  its 
being  adequately  estimated,  or  at  once  simply  and  exten- 
sively received.  In  this  obvious  disproportion,  then,  be- 
tween the  excellency  of  the  dispensation,  aud  the  receptive 
*  Galatians,  iv.  4. 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


399 


capacity  of  the  world,  what  could  be  more  reasonable  than 
that  the  All-wise  Disposer,  with  sufficient  cave  for  the 
perfect  promulgation  of  evangelical  truth,  and  its  perpet- 
ual enshrinement  in  the  sacred  volume,  should,  in  pro- 
ceeding with  his  comprehensive  design,  employ,  through 
his  providence,  the  same  method  of  adaptation,  which  in 
strictly  analogous  circumstances  he  had  heen  pleased  ex- 
pressly to  order.  I  have  presumed  already  thus  to  account 
for  the  early  relapse  into  ceremonial  religion,  and  the 
later,  though  scarcely  less  strange,  adoption  of  iiTespective 
predestination  ;  but  I  can  not  help  thinking  that  all  the 
anomalous  movements  in  the  Christian  Church,  from  the 
secession  of  the  Albigenses  or  Paulicians  (perhaps  I  might 
include  the  heresies  of  earlier  times)  down  to  the  present 
day,  are  resolvable,  more  or  less  directly,  into  the  same 
mysterious  order ;  and  that  while  all  that  was  exception- 
able in  them  occurred  by  the  Divine  permission,  all  that 
was  useful  in  them  must  have  come  from  Him  of  whom  it 
is  declared,  "  the  good  which  is  done  in  the  earth,  he  doth 
it  himself" 

I  should  not  think  myself  warranted  thus  to  speculate  on 
the  most  important  of  all  subjects,  were  it  not  expressly 
declared  in  the  New  Testament  that  the  scheme  of  re- 
demption has  a  further  purpose  than  merely  that  of  the 
salvation  of  man.  This  further  purpose  is  distinctly  stated 
by  St.  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (iii.  10) :  "Iva 
yvupiaOq  vvv  ralg  dpxalg  Kai  ralg  k^ovoiaig  kv  rolg  enov- 
paviotq  did  rrjg  k/cKXTjalag  rj  ixoXviroinLXog  cocpia  rov  Qeov* 
These  words,  I  conceive,  open  a  view  of  equal  extent  and 
grandeur,  and  are,  in  fact,  replete  with  most  valuable  in- 
formation. The  slow  procedure,  as  it  seems  to  us,  for 
which  it  might  be  hard  to  assign  a  reason,  were  the  design 
bounded  to  this  earth,  is  fully  accounted  for  by  the  notifi- 
cation of  such  an  ulterior  object.  The  institution  of  angels 
in  so  sublime  a  science  may  with  reason  be  concluded  to 
require  a  proportioned  apparatus.  They  had  seen  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  divine  power  at  that  time,  "  when  the  morn- 

*  Eph.  iii.  10.  "  To  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  principalities  and 
powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be  known  by  the  church  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God."  It  is  remarkable  that  Chrysostom,  in  the  preface  to 
his  comment  on  this  epistle,  says,  that  St.  Paul  speaks  of  matters  here 
which  he  scarcely  mentions  elsewhere,  and  quotes  this  verse  as  one  of 
the  instances.  It  also  deserves  notice,  that  St.  Ignatius,  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  calls  the  Ephesian  Christians  the  av/xfivarat 
of  St.  Paul. 


400 


REMARK3  OX  THE  LIFE  AND 


ing  Stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy."  But  in  order  to  instruct  them  in  "  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  Grod,"  another  kind  of  process  was  indispensa- 
ble, in  which,  not  matter,  but  mind,  should  be  the  subject 
of  operation.  And  whatever  might  be  the  power  of  God 
over  7nind,  the  most  effective  exertion  of  that  attribute 
would  not  have  answered  the  end  in  view,  inasmuch  as 
wisdom  can  be  manifested  only  in  the  efficient  guidance 
of  free  agency  to  a  destined  point,  without  any  actual  vio- 
lation of  its  freedom.  If  this  rule  be  not  observed,  it  is 
force,  not  wisdom,  which  accomplishes  the  result. 

As  the  power  of  God  was  displayed  in  the  creation  of 
the  world,  and  the  mechanical  skill  then  exercised  is  illus- 
trated by  the  undeviating  regularity  of  visible  nature,  so 
does  the  wisdom  of  God,  though  less  urgently,  yet  not  less 
really,  invite  our  observation  in  the  profoundly  concate- 
nated order  of  Providence.  If  not  "  a  sparrow  falls"  with- 
out the  cognizance  of  the  All-seeing  Eye,  in  eventful  move- 
ments there  can  have  been  no  absolute  contingency ;  but 
human  passions,  in  themselves  morally  imputable  only  to 
the  subject  of  them,  in  their  effluence  have  necessarily 
come  under  the  control  of  Providence,  and  have,  in  all 
instances,  been  so  directed  as  to  subserve  the  purposes  of 
the  Supreme  Disposer.  Thus  it  is  said  (Psalm  Ixxvi.  10), 
**  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee,  and  the  remainder 
of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain."  And  thus  we  are  told 
(Proverbs,  xxi.  1),  "  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  water  :  he  turneth  it  whithersoever 
he  will." 

In  the  earlier  period  of  the  world,  the  great  object  was, 
gi'adually  to  prepare  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  for  the  advent 
of  the  Messiah.  We  learn  from  the  Old  Testament  what 
mysterious  methods  of  training  were  used  in  the  case  of 
the  Jews ;  and  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  give  decisive  evi- 
dence that  the  chief  political  vicissitudes  of  the  Gentile 
nations  held  each  its  proportioned  place  in  the  same  pro- 
spective design.  And  if  the  revolutions  of  empires,  so,  by 
parity  of  reason,  the  progress  of  civilization,  the  advance- 
ment of  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  extended  light  of  moral 
philosophy,  must  have  been  under  the  same  direction,  sub- 
ordinated to  the  one  supreme  purpose.  But  no  prepara- 
tory measure  is  more  remarkable  than  that,  through  the 
dispersion  of  so  many  Jews,  the  Old  Testament  should  be 
more  or  less  known,  synagogues  erected,  and  proselytes 


CHARACTER   OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


401 


made,  in  most  principal  cities  ;  and  that  thus,  notwithstand- 
ing the  perverseness  and  prejudices  with  which  the  Jews 
at  that  time  seem  to  have  been  peculiarly  chargeable,  they 
were  used  as  precursive  missionaries  with  unspeakable 
advantage  to  the  first  promulgation  of  the  Gospel. 

If  then  the  "  wisdom  of  God"  was  thus  exercised  in  grad- 
ually accomplishing  the  n^rjpGifia  rov  xpovov,  at  once  pro- 
viding the  richest  blessings  for  mankind,  and  as  it  were 
elaborately  preparing  mankind  for  its  reception,  we  could 
not  doubt,  on  mere  grounds  of  reason,  that  the  dispensation 
so  introduced  would  be  conducted  with  equally  minute  at- 
tention, and  its  purposes  effected  by  the  continued  employ- 
ment of  equally  apt  and  skillful  expedients.  But  this  fact 
is  so  fully  established  by  the  single  text  which  has  been 
quoted,  as  only  to  require  our  examination  of  the  conduct 
of  Providence  respecting  the  Christian  Church,  in  order 
that  we  may  discover  something,  at  least,  of  the  manner  in 
which  those  brief  but  significant  words  have  hitherto  had 
their  fulfillment. 

The  Church  is  represented  as  the  great  object  of  con- 
templation, because  the  wisdom  of  God  is  to  have  its  chief 
evidence  in  the  eventual  attainment  of  the  ends  for  which 
the  Christian  Church  was  established.  But  in  that  supreme 
regard,  an  attention  to  all  eventful  movements  on  this  earth 
must  be  included  ;  because,  as  all  such  movements,  in  more 
ancient  times,  were  permitted  and  overruled  subserviently 
to  the  dispensation  which  was  approaching,  so,  that  dis- 
pensation having  come,  and  being  destined  to  advance  pro- 
gressively to  a  certain  height  of  efficiency,  all  the  great 
movements  of  the  modern  world  must  be  equally  and  sim- 
ilarly permitted  and  overruled,  in  subservience  to  the  same 
design,  now  actually  realized,  and  more  and  more  advan- 
cing toward  its  consummation. 

And  yet  it  would  seem  that  there  is  a  peculiar  propriety 
in  representing  "  the  ChurcV^  as  the  special  sphere  of  the 
Divine  wisdom.  For  however  wisely,  in  time  and  meas- 
ure, secular  commotions  and  **  the  wrath  of  man"  may  be 
made  subser^'ient  to  the  Divine  pui-poses,  the  passions  of 
pride,  ambition,  and  cupidity  are  so  prevalent,  and  in  such 
constant  readiness,  that  they  need  only  the  removal  of  re- 
straints, and  the  favor  of  circumstances,  to  insure  their 
eruption  ;  and  then  (if  it  may  be  said  with  due  reverence) 
Providence  has  nothing  more  to  do  than  to  direct  and  over- 
rule their  course,  and  to  limit  their  progress.    But  in  the 


402 


REMARKS  ON  THE   LIFE  AND 


direct  concerns  of  the  Church  very  different  movements 
are  to  be  excited,  and  very  different  affections  to  be  set  in 
operation.  A  moral  victory  is  to  be  achieved — a  moral 
transmutation  to  be  effected  ;  and  that,  not  by  overwhelm- 
ing energy — not  by  continued  repetition  of  miracles,  like 
that  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  or  that  which  arrested  and 
subdued  St.  Paul,  but  by  the  exercise  of  that  divine  attri- 
bute which  we  must  regard  as,  in  its  very  essence,  patient, 
accommodating,  and  conciliatory ;  as  carefully  improving, 
but  in  no  wise  forcing,  circumstances  ;  as  watching,  but 
never  anticipating,  occasions ;  as  proportioning  all  its  meas- 
ures to  the  particular  time  or  season  as  really  as  to  the  ul- 
timate end  ;  and  as  diversifying  those  measures  in  accord- 
ance with  new  emergences,  or  such  increased  capability  as 
admits  of  or  calls  for  a  more  effective  procedure.  Such,  I 
conceive,  are  the  ideas  necessarily  suggested  by  that  lim- 
ited yet  luminous  disclosure;  and  when  we  are  assured 
that  the  Christian  Church  is  as  it  were  the  laboratory  in 
which  this  astonishing  process  is  carried  on,  or  rather,  the 
very  subject  on  which  the  Divine  skill  is  exerted ;  that 
thereby  "  the  depth  of  God's  wisdom  and  knowledge,"  in 
itself  unfathomable,  may,  in  some  degree,  be  opened  to  the 
view  of  angels,  however  incapable  we  must  feel  ourselves, 
in  our  frail  mortality,  of  actually  participating  in  their  sub- 
lime contemplation — still  we  can  not  but  regard  the  various 
phenomena,  whether  consecutively  or  concurrently  pre- 
sented by  the  visible  Church,  with  a  different  interest,  and 
another  kind  of  apprehension,  from  what  we  should  have, 
if  we  thought  we  saw  nothing  but  the  folly  or  wickedness 
of  man  deforming  or  abusing  the  "  unspeakable  gift"  which, 
though  proceeding  from  the  Divine  goodness,  was  supposed 
to  depend  for  its  results  merely  on  man's  free  agency. 

While  the  view  of  overruling  wisdom  which  St.  Paul  has 
opened  to  us  preserves  this  free  agency  inviolate,  it  affords 
us,  as  to  the  future,  an  infinitely  happier  prospect,  and  en- 
ables us  to  form,  as  to  the  present,  a  far  more  correct  esti- 
mate. The  errors  of  heresiarchs,  and  the  witnesses  of 
sectaries,  are,  in  themselves,  the  same  as  ever.  But,  in 
their  influence  on  the  Church,  they  appear  in  a  different 
light,  and  are  no  longer  subjects  of  unmingled  regret.  In 
that  sphere  where  the  Divine  superintendence  regulates 
every  thing,  nothing  can  happen  eventually  amiss.  But 
where  the  no/ivTroLKiAog  aocpla  rov  Qeov  is  to  be  manifested, 
there  must  be  mysterious  permission,  in  order  that  there 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


403 


may  be  profound  direction ;  and  even  the  comprehensive 
beneficence  of  the  designed  result  may  indispensably  call 
for  this  mode  of  proceeding.  The  perfect  preservation  of 
the  catholic  verities  may,  at  one  time,  require  a  permitted 
incrustation  of  uncouth  and  fanciful  observances  ;  at  another 
time,  an  institution  the  most  happily  devised  for  continuity 
of  right  principles,  may,  from  that  settled  uniformity  vv^hich 
is  necessary  for  its  purpose,  be  exposed  to  the  occurrence 
of  devotional  frigidity,  and,  by  consequence,  of  practical 
laxity.  Hence,  in  the  former  case,  it  may  be  indispensa- 
ble that  the  accumulation  of  gross  envelopments  should  at 
length  be  thrown  off  by  a  revolutionary  movement ;  and, 
in  the  latter,  that  prevailing  torpor  should  be  opportunely 
corrected  by  some  sort  of  epidemical  excitation,  propor- 
tioned to  the  exigence.  In  both  cases,  however,  it  would 
seem  to  accord  best  with  the  great  ruling  principle,  that 
the  instruments  employed  should  be  suffered  to  proceed 
each  in  its  own  natural  way  (the  suitableness  of  which  to 
the  specific  purpose  might,  indeed,  be  the  motive  of  choice), 
and  that  the  defects  should  be  supplied,  or  the  excesses 
counteracted,  by  other  adequate  provisions,  alike  illustra- 
tive of  that  exquisite  management,  under  which  the  heav- 
enly spectators  must  see  the  entire  scheme  advancing  more 
and  more  to  its  destined  consummation. 

Impossible  as  it  is,  that  we  in  our  low  estate  should 
make  any  approach  to  this  clearness  of  understanding,  the 
notijication  must  have  been  made  to  engage  our  attention, 
and  to  stimulate  our  inquiry ;  and  I  should  think,  that  the 
more  closely  we  examine  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Church,  regarding  it  not  as  the  subject  of  God's  inscruta- 
ble and  irresistible  sovereignty,  nor  as  the  strangely-aban- 
doned victim  of  men's  follies,  frenzies,  and  worst  vices,  but 
as  the  peculiar  and  divinely-prepared  theater,  where  "  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God"  is  to  unfold  itself  to  celestial  in- 
telligences ;  the  more,  I  say,  we  review  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  Church  as  serving  this  transcendent  purpose,  and  so- 
berly, yet  fairly,  pursue  the  consequences  to  which  the  un- 
questionable premises  lead,  the  more  shall  we  be  disposed 
to  join  with  "  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places," 
in  admiring  (how  distant  soever  from  them  in  comprehend- 
ing) the  depth,  the  extent,  and  the  unity  of  that  wonderful 
economy,  in  which  permission  of  evil  has  already  been  so 
often  and  so  amply  compensated  by  achievement  of  good  ; 
and  error,  in  successive  instances,  made  so  signally  sub< 


404 


REMARKS   ON  THE  LIFE  AND 


servient  to  the  clearer  elucidation  and  advanced  develop- 
ment of  pure  evangelical  truth. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  thus  expressing  my  thoughts 
on  a  subject  which  would  demand  much  deeper  investiga- 
tion, and  which  I  am  persuaded  is  by  no  means  new  to  Mr. 
Southey,  because  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  not  other- 
wise explain  the  precise  principles  on  which  I  have  formed 
my  judgment  of  John  Wesley's  singular  character,  and  still 
more  singular  course  ;  and  according  to  which,  I  make  my 
estimate  of  the  results  which  have  arisen,  or,  as  I  conceive, 
may  yet  arise  from  the  entire  part,  earlier  and  later,  which 
he  was  led  to  act  in  the  religious  world.  I  now  beg  leave 
to  add  one  or  two  remarks  on  the  point  which  was  last  re- 
ferred to,  namely,  Mr.  Wesley's  notion  of  saving  faith. 

And  here  I  am  bound  in  candor,  not  less  than  by  my  es- 
teem for  the  nobler  qualities  which  prevailed  in  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's mental  character,  to  express  my  conviction,  that  as  in 
his  practical  principles  generally,  so  particularly  respecting 
Faith  as  a  divinely-operative  grace  in  the  heart,  he  never 
substantially  swerved  from  the  first  lessons  he  had  learned, 
however  his  intellectual  views  might  have  subsequently 
suffered  circumstantial  obscuration.  Long  before  the  doc- 
trine of  Luther  had  entered  his  thoughts,  he  had  been  taught 
by  sounder  instructors  to  consider  Faith  as  such  a  mental 
sense  of  divine  and  eternal  things,  as  engaged  the  heart, 
riveted  the  supreme  affections,  and  thus  governed  both  in- 
ward and  outward  conduct.  Such  a  sense  he  of  course  be- 
lieved no  man  could  produce  in  himself,  by  any  kind  of  vol- 
untary exertion  ;  and  he  accordingly  regarded  it  strictly  as 
a  divine  grace  communicated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  those 
who  honestly  exercised  whatever  measures  of  inferior 
grace  had  been  already  conferred  on  them.  That  this  so- 
ber and  solid  view  was  theoretically  disturbed  by  the  new 
lessons  which  he  received  from  his  German  teachers,  I 
fully  admit ;  but  before  much  time  had  elapsed,  his  earlier 
impressions  began  to  show  themselves  ;  and  their  influence 
on  the  tone  of  his  discourses  may  perhaps  be  perceived  to 
advance"  gradually,  until  at  length  it  became  actually 
ascendent. 

At  the  same  time  I  allow,  that  for  several  years  Mr. 
Wesley  spoke  on  the  subject  of  Faith  in  a  manner  which 
made  it  difficult  to  distinguish  his  sounder  principles  from 
the  questionable  positions  with  which  they  were  more  or 
less  intermingled.    It  would  seem  that,  during  the  time  to 


CHAKACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


405 


which  I  refer,  his  mind  was,  not  artfully,  but  honestly  en 
deavoring  to  unite  the  moral  verities,  which  in  his  judg- 
ment as  well  as  heart  he  immutably  approved  and  loved, 
with  those  superinduced  doctrines,  from  which,  he  con- 
ceived, he  himself  had  derived  valuable  advantage ;  and 
which  he  then  regarded  as  essential  articles  of  Evangelical 
truth.  It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  frequently,  when  he 
was  in  accordance  with  the  brightest  luminaries  of  the 
Church,  in  the  substance  of  his  assertions,  his  manner  of 
expression  might  be  such  as,  even  to  serious  and  candid 
hearers,  would  seem  to  justify  a  charge  of  fanaticism. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  I  may  not  have  already  remark- 
ed, that  although  Mr.  Wesley  adopted  the  phrase  of  "  Jus- 
tification by  Faith," — explaining  it,  however,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  mentioned,  in  a  way  of  his  own, — his  favorite 
theme  was  **  Salvation  by  Faith and  what  his  sense  of 
this  expression  was,  he  briefly  but  clearly  states,  when  he 
says,  "  Salvation  by  Faith  is  only,  in  other  words,  the  love 
of  God,  by  the  knowledge  of  God ;  or,  the  recovery  of  the 
image  of  God,  by  a  true  spiritual  acquaintance  with  Him." 
Of  Faith,  as  thus  regarded,  he  gives  the  following  more 
particular  account — "  Faith  is  Trpayjttarwv  eXejxog  ov  (iXe- 
TTOfjevojv  (Heb.,  xi.  1),  the  demonstrative  evidence  of  things 
unseen,  the  supernatural  evidence  of  things  invisible,  not 
perceivable  by  eyes  of  men,  or  by  any  of  our  natural 
senses  or  faculties.  Faith  is  that  divine  evidence  whereby 
the  spiritual  man  discemeth  God  and  the  things  of  God. 
It  is,  with  regard  to  the  spiritual  world,  what  sense  is  with 
regard  to  the  natural.  It  is  the  spiritual  sensation  of  every 
soul  that  is  born  of  God." 

By  way  of  further  explanation,  he  proceeds  to  ascribe  to 
Faith,  powers  analogous  to  the  corporeal  faculties  of  sight, 
hearing,  tasting,  and  feeling ;  in  most  of  which  instances 
he  adduces  apposite  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  as 
where  it  is  said  (Hebrews,  xi.  27)  that  Moses  endured,  as 
"seeing  him  who  is  invisible;"  and  (St.  John,  v.  25)  that 
"  the  dead*  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
they  that  hear  shall  live;"  and  also  (Hebrews,  vi.  5)  where 
converts  to  Christianity  are  described  as  "  tasting  the  good 
word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come."  But 
at  the  same  time,  in  each  of  those  asserted  exercises  of 
Faith,  he  includes  some  or  other  of  his  then  prevalent  per- 
suasions, in  a  way  which  I  am  satisfied  he  would  not  have 
♦  Clearly  the  spiritually  dead,  as  is  shown  by  what  follows,  ver.  28. 


406 


REMARKS  OX  T»E  LIFE  AXO 


defended  in  his  later  days.  It  has,  nevertheless,  been  my 
constant  belief,  that  the  moral  substance  of  what  he  incul- 
cated was  not  vitiated,  however  it  might  be  disguised,  by 
these  crude  intermixtures;  and  I  accordingly  have  always 
considered  the  paragraph  which  next  follows  (Earnest  Ap- 
peal, 8)  as  the  unequivocal  expression,  not  merely  of  an 
upright,  but  of  a  morally  exalted  mind.  "  By  this  Faith 
we  are  saved  from  all  uneasiness  of  mind,  from  the  anguish 
of  a  wounded  spirit,  from  discontent,  from  fear  and  sorrow 
of  heart,  and  from  that  inexpressible  listlessness  and  weari- 
ness, both  of  the  world  and  of  ourselves,  under  which  we 
had  so  helplessly  labored  for  many  years,  especially  when 
we  were  out  of  the  hurry  of  the  world,  and  sunk  into  calm 
reflection.  In  this  we  find  that  love  of  God  and  of  all  man- 
kind which  we  had  elsewhere  sought  in  vain.  This,  we 
know  and  feel,  and  therefore  can  not  but  declare,  saves 
every  one  that  partakes  of  it,  both  from  sin  and  misery, 
from  every  unhappy  and  every  unholy  temper. 

'  Soft  peace  she  brings ;  wherever  she  arrives, 
She  builds  our  quiet  as  she  forms  our  lives ; 
Lays  the  rough  paths  of  peevish  nature  even, 
And  opens  iu  each  breast  a  little  heaven.' " 

I  must  not  wait  to  say  under  what  limitations  and  condi- 
tions I  admire  the  above  glowing  passage,  the  former  part 
of  which  remarkably  accords  with  Burke's  pathetic  descrip- 
tion of  the  miseries  so  often  felt  by  those  who  "have  noth- 
ing on  earth  to  hope  or  fear,"  in  his  Reflections  on  the 
French  Revolution.  The  truth  is,  that  no  man  was  more 
deeply  sensible  to  the  instinctive  inquiry  of  human  nature, 

Quid  minuat  curas,  quid  te  tibi  reddat  aniicum, 
Quid  pure  tranquillet  ? 

than  John  Wesley ;  and  I  believe  one  chief  reason  for  his 
high  estimation  of  Prior  among  English  poets  was,  that  he 
gives  so  many  vivid  sketches  of  man's  wretchedness,  in 
spite  of  all  possible  contrivances  to  enjoy  life.  But  I  go 
on  to  transcribe  one  or  two  of  the  next  ensuing  paragraphs, 
which  are  quite  in  Mr.  Wesley's  characteristic  manner; 
and  serve  to  throw  additional  light  on  his  notion  of  Faith. 

"  If  you  ask,  Why  then  have  not  all  men  this  Faith  ]  all, 
at  least,  who  conceive  it  to  be  so  happy  a  thing  ] — why  do 
they  not  believe  immediately  ] 

"  We  answer.  It  is  the  gift  of  God.  No  man  is  able  to 
work  it  in  himself.    It  is  a  work  of  Omnipotence.  None 


CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 


407 


can  create  a  soul  anew,  but  He  who  at  first  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth. 

"  May  not  your  own  experience  teach  you  this  ]  Can 
you  give  yourself  this  faith  1  Is  it  now  in  your  power  to 
see,  or  hear,  or  taste,  or  feel  God  1  Can  you  raise  in 
yourself  any  perception  of  God,  or  of  an  invisible  world  ] 
Is  it  in  your  power  to  burst  the  veil  that  is  on  your  heart, 
and  let  in  the  light  of  eternity  1  You  know  it  is  not. 
You  not  only  do  not,  but  can  not  (by  your  own  strength), 
thus  believe.  The  more  you  labor  so  to  do,  the  more  you 
will  be  convinced  it  is  the  gift  of  GodJ' 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  passages,  though  strong- 
ly marked  with  the  excessive  ardor  of  Mr.  Wesley's  earlier 
course,  do  nevertheless  evince  that  his  notion  of  Faith,  even 
then,  was  essentially  moral,  however  as  yet  it  might  have 
been  beclouded  by  some  doctrinal  admixtures  ;  and  that 
he  considered  the  appropriate  objects  of  Faith  to  be,  not 
fanciful  chimeras,  but  the  morally  influential  realities  of 
the  invisible  world.  The  confidence  he  at  that  time  had, 
that  faith  was  always  communicated  in  a  moment,  tended 
to.  envelop  his  better  principles  in  a  sort  of  vaporous 
atmosphere,  and  to  conceal  them  even  from  the  most  dis- 
passionate observers.  But  the  victory  obtained  by  those 
principles  in  Mr.  Wesley's  later  years  (however  incomplete 
in.  some  respects)  has  fully  proved  that  they  were  always 
in.  existence,  and  makes  it  reasonable,  as  well  as  just,  to 
attach  a  sound  and  practical  sense  to  the  expressions  which 
have  been  quoted. 

How  far  the  import  of  those  expressions,  and  some  even 
of  the  leading  terms,  have  been  sanctioned  by  divines  of 
highest  character,  Mr.  Southey  is  too  well  qualified  to 
judge,  for  me  to  trouble  him  with  instances.  I  will  take 
the  liberty,  however,  of  transcribing  two  short  passages, 
one  from  Scougal,  the  other  from  Archbishop  Leighton,  in 
both  of  which  I  conceive  Mr.  Wesley's  essential  idea  of 
Faith  is  virtually,  if  not  literally,  recognized. 

Scougal's  words  are  as  follows  :  "  As  the  animal  life 
consisteth  in  that  narrow  and  confined  love  which  is  ter- 
minated on  a  man's  self,  and  in  his  propension  toward 
those  things  which  are  pleasing  to  nature,  so  the  divine  life 
stands  in  an  universal  and  unbounded  affection,  and  in  the 
mastery  over  our  natural  inclinations,  that  they  may  never 
be  able  to  betray  us  to  those  things  which  we  know  to  be 
blamable.    The  root  of  the  divine  life  is  Faith  ;  the  chief 


408 


REMARKS  ON   THE  LIFE  AND 


branches  are  love  to  God,  charity  to  man,  purity,  and 
humility :  for  (as  an  excellent  person  hath  well  observed), 
however  these  names  be  common  and  vulgar,  and  make  no 
extraordinary  sound,  yet  do  they  carry  such  a  mighty  sense, 
that  the  tongue  of  man  or  angel  can  pronounce  nothing 
more  weighty  or  excellent.  Faith  hath  the  same  place  in 
the  divine  life,  which  sense  hath  in  the  natural;  being, 
indeed,  nothing  else  but  a  kind  of  sense,  or  feeling  persua- 
sion, of  spiritual  things." 

The  passage  from  Archbishop  Leighton  is  to  be  found 
in  his  Meditationes  Ethico-Criticae  in  Psalmum  CXXX., 
and  is  this :  "  Emortua  itaque  est  et  prorsus  nulla,  vulga- 
rium  ac  nomine  tenus  Christianorum  fides ;  quae  eos  ad 
gratiam  illam  divinam,  quam  se  credere  aiunt,  avidissime 
exoptandum,  et  expectandum,  non  excitat.  Vera  et  viva 
fides  interioris  hominis  oculus  est,  lucidum  ac  perennem 
boni  fontem,  et  perfectissime  amabilem  Deum,  conspiciens  ; 
ex  quo  aspectu  fervidissimum  amorem  nasci  necesse  est. 
Et  divina  ilia  lux,  quae  ccelitus  animae  immittitur,  caloris 
vehiculum  est;  et  radiis  suis  ardentibus  cor  continuo  suc- 
cendit.  Et  infinitam  pulchritudinem  conspiciendam  exhi- 
bens,  totos  animi  effectus  in  sublime  rapit." 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  this  eloquent  and  beauti- 
ful description  needs  little  less  than  what  has  been  quoted 
from  Mr.  Wesley  to  be  received  under  limitations  and  con- 
ditions. The  excellent  archbishop  gives  a  delightful  view 
af  Faith  as  it  is  in  its  own  nature,  and  no  doubt  as  he,  in 
good  measure  at  least,  felt  it  in  his  own  seraphic  bosom. 
But  he  certainly  describes  what  is  much  oftener  possessed, 
even  by  the  sincerest  Christians,  in  its  dawn  (happy  is  it 
for  them  if  it  be  a  growing  dawn  !)  than  in  that  meridian 
brightness  which  bursts  forth  as  it  were  at  once  in  these 
few  sentences.  It  was  not,  it  seems,  in  the  archbishop's 
mind,  nor,  indeed,  suitable  to  the  brevity  of  his  remarks, 
to  notice  the  advancing  gradations  between  what  he  so 
justly  accounts  **  emortua  et  prorsus  nulla  fides,"  and  that 
anticipatory  heaven  which  the  fullness  of  his  Faith  would 
imply.  But,  beyond  doubt,  he  would  have  at  all  times 
recognized  those  gradations  as  expressly  as  they  were  rec- 
ognized by  John  Wesley  in  the  comparatively  sober  even- 
ing of  his  life  ;  and,  indeed,  if  it  were  necessary  to  guard 
against  a  possible  misconstruction  of  Leighton's  expres- 
sions, it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  any  thing  more  to  the 
purpose  than  in  a  remarkable  passage  in  one  of  Mr.  Wcs- 


CHARACTER  OP  JOHN  WESLEY. 


409 


ley's  later  sermons,  where,  more  explicitly,  perhaps,  than 
on  any  other  occasion,  he  recants  his  former  eiTors. 

As  I  have  referred  to  this  passage  more  than  once,  with- 
out expressly  quoting  it,  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  tran- 
scribing it,  though  it  can  not  have  escaped  Mr.  Southey's 
eye,  and  I  am  not  sure  whether  it  is  not  noticed  in  his 
work.  I  think  it  confirms  all  I  have  said  respecting  Mr. 
Wesley's  notion  of  Faith. 

"  What,"  he  asks,  "  is  the  faith  which  is  properly  saving, 
which  brings  eternal  salvation  to  all  those  that  keep  it  to 
the  end  1  It  is  such  a  divine  conviction  of  God,  and  the 
things  of  God,  as,  even  in  its  infant  state,  enables  every  one 
that  possesses  it  to  *  fear  God  and  work  righteousness  ;* 
and  whosoever,  in  every  nation,  believes  thus  far,  *  is  ac- 
cepted of  Him ;'  he  actually  is,  at  that  very  moment,  in  a 
state  of  acceptance.  But  he  is  at  present  only  a  servant  of 
God  ;  not  properly  3.son  :  meantime,  let  it  be  observed,  that 

*  the  wrath  of  God  no  longer  abideth  upon  him.' 

*•  Indeed,  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  when  the  preachers 
commonly  called  Methodists  began  to  preach  that  grand 
scriptural  doctrine.  Salvation  by  Faith,  they  were  not  suf- 
ficiently apprised  of  the  difference  between  a  servant  and 
a  child  of  God.  They  did  not  clearly  understand  that  ev- 
ery one  '  who  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is 
accepted  of  him.'  In  consequence  of  this,  they  were  apt 
to  make  sad  the  hearts  of  those  whom  God  had  not  made 
sad.    For  they  frequently  asked  those  who  feared  God, 

*  Do  you  know  that  your  sins  are  forgiven  V  and  upon  their 
answering  '  No ;'  immediately  replied,  *  Then  you  are  a 
child  of  the  Devil!'  No;  that  does  not  follow.  It  might 
have  been  said  (and  it  is  all  that  can  be  said  with  proprie- 
ty), *  Hitherto  you  are  only  a  servant;  you  are  not  a  child 
of  God.  You  have  already  great  reason  to  praise  God  that 
he  has  called  you  to  his  honorable  service.  Fear  not. 
Continue  crying  unto  him,  and  you  shall  see  greater  things 
than  these.'  "  . 

I  should  here  conclude  my  remarks,  were  it  not  that  I 
wish  to  add  the  transcript  of  a  private  letter,  the  original 
of  which  is  in  my  possession ;  and  which  shows  with  what 
deep  and  consistent  cordiality  Mr.  Wesley  had  embraced 
the  principles  expressed  in  the  foregoing  quotation.  It 
was  written  to  a  person  depressed  by  a  painful  sense  of 
spiritual  deficiency. 


410   REMARKS  ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  WESLEY. 

July  11,  1778. 

**  My  dear  , 

It  is  a  natural  effect  of  your  bodily  weakness,  and  the 
turn  of  your  mind,  that  you  are  continually  inclined  to 
write  bitter  things  against  yourself.  Hence  you  are  easily 
persuaded  to  believe  him  that  tells  you  that  you  are  *  void 
of  every  degree  of  saving  faith.'  No  ;  that  is  not  the  case  ; 
for  salvation  is  only  by  faith,  and  you  have  received  a  de- 
gree of  salvation  :  you  are  saved  from  many  outward  sins 
— from  the  corruption  that  overspreads  the  land  as  a  flood. 
You  are  saved,  in  a  degree,  from  inward  sins;  from  im- 
penitence, for  you  know  and  feel  yourself  a  sinner.  You 
are  saved,  in  a  degree,  from  pride;  for  you  begin  to  know 
yourself  poor  and  helpless.  You  are  saved  from  seeking 
happiness  in  the  world.  This  is  not  a  small  thing.  O 
praise  God  for  all  you  have,  and  trust  him  for  all  you 
want !" 

In  closing  these  remarks,  I  must  express  my  regret  that 
they  have  been  so  long  delayed.  But  from  the  beginning 
of  November,  1826,  until  about  two  months  since,  I  was 
obliged,  by  the  weakness  of  one  of  my  eyes,  to  relinquish 
both  reading  and  writing.  At  length,  being  able  to  write, 
I  have  hastened  to  fulfill  my  engagement ;  but,  being  still 
unable  to  read  with  safety,  I  may  possibly  have  repeated 
in  the  latter  sheets  what  I  had  already  said  in  those  writ- 
ten fifteen  months  ago ;  and  I  fear  that,  from  the  same 
cause,  there  are  many  other  faults  which  will  need  kind 
indulgence.  The  truth  is,  I  chose  to  exert  my  present 
power,  such  as  it  is,  though  with  the  hazard  of  executing 
my  purpose  very  imperfectly,  rather  than  defer  longer 
what  had  been  already  so  long,  and  to  myself  so  painfully, 
protracted.  But  I  am  well  assured  that  any  defects  in 
manner  will  have  every  allowance  from  that  liberal  and 
friendly  mind,  to  which  it  is  my  sole  anxiety  that  my 
matter  should  be  interesting  and  satisfactory. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  I.    (Page  22.) 

Thomas  Olivers. 

"  For  four  or  five  years,"  says  this  person,  "I  was  greatly  en- 
tangled with  a  farmer's  daughter,  whose  sister  was  married  to 
Sir  I.  P.,  of  N — wt — n,  in  that  country.  What 

'  Strange  reverse  of  human  fates  !* 

for  one  sister  was  wooed  by,  and  married  to,  a  baronet,  who  was 
esteemed  one  of  the  finest  men  in  the  country.  When  she  died, 
Sir  I.  was  almost  distracted.  Presently  after  her  funeral,  he 
published  an  elegy  on  her  of  a  thousand  verses !  For  her  sake 
he  said, 

O  that  the  fleecy  care  had  been  my  lot ; 
Some  lonely  cottage,  or  some  verdant  spot.' 

For  some  time  he  daily  visited  her  in  her  vault;  and  at  last  took 
her  up,  and  kept  her  in  his  bedchamber  for  several  years. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  her  sister,  who  was  but  little  inferior  in 
person,  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  most  insignificant  young  man,  who 
was  a  means  of  driving  her  almost  to  an  untimely  end." 

The  baronet  whom  Olivers  alludes  to,  was  probably  Sir  John 
Price  of  Buckland.  A  certain  Bridget  Bostock  was  famous,  in 
the  county  of  Cheshire,  in  his  time,  for  performing  wonderful 
cures,  and  he  applied  to  her  to  raise  his  wife  from  the  dead.  His 
letters  upon  this  extraordinary  subject  may  be  found  in  the 
Monthly  Magazine,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  30,  31.*    The  person  by  whom 

*  The  successful  application  of  animal  magnetism  in  four  or  five  cases  of  suspend- 
ed animation— in  two  of  them  after  every  known  means  had  been  used  for  six  hours 
to  no  purpose,  and  for  which  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  was  present,  and  the  King 
of  Prussia,  had  a  medal  struck,  one  of  which,  in  gold,  was  given  to  Dr.  Wolfant — 
may  throw  a  conjectural  gleam  on  the  possible  origin  of  Sir  John's  belief.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  many  of  these  wonder-cure-workers  were  empirical  magnetists,  who 
had  learned  the  practice  from  tradition.— S.  T.  C. 


412 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


they  were  communicated  to  that  journal  says,  that  they  exposed 
the  writer  to  the  severest  ridicule  ;  but  in  any  good  mind  they 
would  rather  excite  compassion.  Sir  John  fully  believed  that  this 
woman  could  work  miracles  ;  and,  reasoning  upon  that  belief,  he 
applied  to  her  in  full  faith. 


NOTE  II.    (Page  33.) 

What  Haime  saw  was  certainly  a  bustard. 

The  following  very  curious  and  authentic  account  of  two  bus- 
tards was  published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  the  year 
1805,  by  Mr.  Tucker,  schoolmaster  at  Tilshead.  '  A  man,  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  some  day  in  June,  1801,  was 
coming  from  Tinhead  to  Tilshead,  when  near  a  place  called  Ask- 
ings Penning,  one  mile  from  Tilshead,  he  saw  over  his  head  a 
large  bird  which  afterward  proved  to  be  a  bustard.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  before  it  lighted  on  the  gi-ound,  immediately  before 
his  horse,  which  it  indicated  an  inclination  to  attack,  and,  in  fact, 
very  soon  began  the  onset.  The  man  alighted,  and  getting  hold 
of  the  bird  endeavored  to  secure  it ;  and  after  struggling  with  it 
nearly  an  hour,  succeeded,  and  brought  it  alive  to  the  house  of 
Mr.  Bartlett,  at  Tilshead,  where  it  continued  till  the  month  of 
August,  when  it  was  sold  to  Lord  Temple  for  the  sum  of  thirty- 
one  guineas. 

"  About  a  fortnight  subsequent  to  the  taking  this  bustard,  Mr. 
Grant,  a  farmer  residing  at  Tilshead,  returning  from  Warminster 
market,  was  attacked  in  a  similar  manner,  near  Tilshead  Lodge, 
by  another  bird  of  the  same  species.  His  horse,  being  spirited, 
took  fright  and  ran  off,  which  obliged  Mr.  Grant  to  relinquish  his 
design  of  endeavoring  to  take  the  bird.  The  circumstance  of 
two  birds  (whose  nature  has  been  always  considered,  like  that  of 
a  turkey,  domestic)  attacking  a  man  and  horse  is  so  very  singu- 
lar that  it  deserves  recording,  and  particularly  as  it  is  probably 
the  last  record  we  shall  find  of  the  existence  of  this  bird  upon 
our  downs." — Sir  Richard  Hoare's  Ancient  Wiltshire^  p.  94, 
note. 

The  birds  certainly  had  their  nests  near  ;  and  there  is  nothing 
more  wonderful  in  the  fact,  than  what  every  sportsman  has  seen 
in  the  partridge,  when  the  mother  attempts  to  draw  him  away 
from  her  young.  But  it  was  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I 
recollected  this  anecdote  in  reading  the  Life  of  John  Haime,  not 
merely  as  explaining  the  incident  in  the  text,  but  as  proving  his 
veracity  ;  for  undoubtedly,  without  thi"^  explanation,  many  readers 
Would  have  supposed  the  story  to  be  a  mere  falsehood,  which 
would  have  discredited  the  writer's  testimony  in  every  other  part 
of  his  narration. 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


413 


NOTE  III.    (Page  67.) 

The  renewal  of  the  image  of  God  in  the  heart  of  man. 

Mr.  Toplady  has  a  curious  paper  upon  this  subject. 

"  When  a  portrait  painter  takes  a  likeness  there  must  be  an 
original  from  whom  to  take  it.  Here  the  original  are,  God  and 
Christ.  '  When  I  awake  up  after  thy  likeness,'  &c.  ;  and, 
we  are  '  predestinated  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son.' 

"  The  painter  chooses  the  materials  on  which  he  will  delineate 
his  piece.  There  are  paintings  on  wood,  on  glass,  on  metals,  on 
ivory,  on  canvass.  So  God  chooses  and  selects  the  persons  on 
whom  his  uncreated  Spirit  shall,  with  the  pencil  of  effectual  grace, 
redelineate  that  holy  likeness  which  Adam  lost.  Among  these 
are  some  whose  natural  cfipacities,  and  acquired  improvements, 
are  not  of  the  first  rate :  there  the  image  of  God  is  painted  on 
wood.  Others  of  God's  people  have  not  those  quick  sensibilities 
and  poignant  feelings  by  which  many  are  distinguished  ;  there 
the  Holy  Spirit's  painting  is  on  marble.  Others  are  permitted 
to  fall  from  the  ardor  of  their  first  love,  and  to  deviate  from  their 
steadfastness  :  there  the  Holy  Spirit  paints  on  glass,  which,  per- 
haps, the  first  stone  of  temptation  may  injure.  But  the  Celestial 
Artist  will,  in  time,  repair  those  breaches,  and  restore  the  frail, 
brittle  Christian  to  his  original  enjoyments,  and  to  more  than  his 
original  purity ;  and,  what  may  seem  truly  wonderful,  Divine 
Grace  restores  the  picture  by  breaking  it  over  again.  It  is  the 
broken-hearted  sinner  to  whom  God  will  impart  the  comforts  of 
salvation. 

"  The  ancients  painted  only  in  water-colors ;  but  the  moderns 
(from  about  a.d.  1320)  have  added  beauty  and  durability  to  their 
pictures  by  painting  them  in  oil.  Applicable  to  hypocrites  and 
true  believers.  An  hypocrite  may  outwardly  bear  something  that 
resembles  the  image  of  God  ;  but  it  is  only  in  fresco,  or  water- 
colors,  which  do  not  last ;  and  are,  at  best,  laid  on  by  the  hand  of 
dissimulation.  But  (if  I  may  accommodate  so  familiar  an  idea  to 
so  high  a  subject)  the  Holy  Spirit  paints  in  oil ;  he  accompanies 
his  work  with  unction  and  with  power ;  and  hence  it  shall  be 
crowned  with  honors,  and  praise,  and  glory  at  Christ's  appear- 
ing." 

The  remainder  of  the  paper  is  less  apposite. 

NOTE  IV.    (Page  67.) 

The  New  Birth. 

"  The  ground  and  reason  of  the  expression,"  says  Wesley, 
"are  easy  to  be  understood.  When  we  undergo  this  great 
chaDge,  we  may,  with  much  propriety,  be  said  to  be  born  again, 


414 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


because  there  is  so  near  a  resemblance  between  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  natural  and  of  the  spiritual  birth  ;  so  that  to  consider 
the  circumstances  of  the  natural  birth,  is  the  most  easy  way  to 
understand  the  spiritual. 

"  The  child  which  is  not  yet  born  subsists  indeed  by  the  air,  as 
does  every  thing  which  has  life,  but  feels  it  not,  nor  any  thing 
else,  unless  in  a  veiy  dull  and  imperfect  manner.  It  hears  little, 
if  at  all ;  the  organs  of  hearing  being  as  yet  closed  up.  It  sees 
nothing,  having  its  eyes  fast  shut  up,  and  being  surrounded  with 
utter  darkness.  There  are,  it  may  be,  some  faint  beginnings  of 
life,  when  the  time  of  its  birth  draws  nigh  ;  and  some  motion  con- 
sequent thereon,  whereby  it  is  distinguished  from  a  mere  mass 
of  matter.  But  it  has  no  senses  ;  all  these  avenues  of  the  soul 
are  hitherto  quite  shut  up.  Of  consequence,  it  has  scarcely  any 
intercourse  with  this  visible  world  ;  nor  any  knowledge  or  concep- 
tion, or  idea  of  the  things  that  occur  therein. 

"  The  reason  why  he  that  is  not  yet  born  is  wholly  a  stranger 
to  the  visible  world  is,  not  because  it  is  afar  off :  it  is  very  nigh; 
it  surrounds  him  on  every  side  :  but  partly  because  he  has  not 
those  senses — they  are  not  yet  opened  in  his  soul  whereby  alone 
it  is  possible  to  hold  commerce  with  the  material  world  ;  and 
partly  because  so  thick  a  veil  is  cast  between,  through  which  he 
can  discern  nothing. 

"  But  no  sooner  is  the  child  born  into  the  world  than  he  exists 
in  a  quite  different  manner.  He  now  feels  the  air  with  which 
he  is  surrounded,  and  which  pours  into  him  from  every  side, 
as  fast  as  he  alternately  breathes  it  back,  to  sustain  the  flame  of 
life,  and  hence  springs  a  continual  increase  of  strength,  of  motion, 
and  of  sensation  :  all  the  bodily  senses  being  now  aw^akened,  and 
furnished  with  their  proper  objects. 

"  His  eyes  are  now  opened  to  perceive  the  light,  which,  silently 
flowing  in  upon  them,  discovers  not  only  itself,  but  an  infinite 
variety  of  things,  with  which  before  he  was  wholly  unacquainted. 
His  ears  are  unclosed,  and  sounds  rush  in  with  endless  diversity. 
Every  sense  is  employed  upon  such  objects  as  are  peculiarly 
suitable  to  it ;  and  by  these  inlets  the  soul,  having  an  open  inter- 
course with  the  visible  world,  acquires  more  and  more  knowledge 
of  sensible  things,  of  all  the  things  which  are  under  the  sun. 

"  So  it  is  with  him  that  is  born  of  God.  Before  that  great 
change  is  wrought,  although  he  subsists  by  Him  in  whom  all  that 
have  life  live,  and  move,  and  have  their  being,  yet  he  is  not  sen- 
sible of  God  ;  he  does  not  feel,  he  has  no  inward  consciousness  of 
his  presence.  He  does  not  perceive  that  divine  breath  of  life 
without  which  he  can  not  subsist  a  moment.  Nor  is  he  sensible 
of  any  of  the  things  of  God.  They  make  no  impression  upon  his 
soul.  God  is  continually  calling  to  him  from  on  high,  but  he 
heareth  not ;  his  ears  are  shut,  so  that  the  '  voice  of  the  charmer' 
is  lost  on  him,  'charm  he  ever  so  wisely.'  He  seeth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  the  eyes  of  his  understanding  being 
closed,  and  utter  darkness  covering  his  whole  soul,  surrounding 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


415 


him  on  every  side.  It  is  true,  he  may  have  some  faint  dawnings 
of  life,  some  small  beginnings  of  the  spiritual  motion ;  but  as  yet 
he  has  no  spiritual  senses  capable  of  discerning  spiritual  objects ; 
consequently  he  discerneth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
He  can  not  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 

"  Hence  he  has  scarce  any  knowledge  of  the  invisible  world, 
as  he  has  scarce  any  intercourse  with  it.  Not  that  it  is  afar  off. 
No  :  he  is  in  the  midst  of  it :  it  encompasses  him  round  about. 
The  other  world,  as  we  usually  term  it,  is  not  far  from  any  of  us. 
It  is  above,  and  beneath,  and  on  every  side  :  only  the  natural  man 
discerneth  it  not ;  partly  because  he  hath  no  spiritual  senses, 
whereby  alone  we  can  discern  the  things  of  God ;  partly  because 
so  thick  a  veil  is  interposed,  as  he  knows  not  how  to  penetrate. 

'*  But  when  he  is  born  of  God,  born  of  the  Spirit,  how  is  the 
manner  of  existence  changed  !  His  whole  soul  is  now  sensible 
of  God,  and  he  can  say,  by  sure  experience,  'Thou  art  about  my 
bed,  and  about  my  path ;'  I  feel  thee  '  in  all  my  ways.'  Thou 
besettest  me  behind  and  before,  and  layest  thy  hand  upon  me. 
The  spirit  or  breath  of  God  is  immediately  inspired,  breathed 
into  the  new-born  soul.  And  the  same  breath,  which  comes  from, 
returns  to  God  :  as  it  is  continually  received  by  faith,  so  it  is  con- 
tinually rendered  back  by  love,  by  prayer,  and  praise,  and  thanks- 
giving ;  love,  and  praise,  and  prayer,  being  the  breath  of  every 
soul  which  is  truly  born  of  God.  And  by  this  new  kind  of  spir- 
itual respiration,  spiritual  life  is  not  only  sustained,  but  increased 
day  by  day,  together  with  spiritual  strength,  and  motion,  and 
sensation.  All  the  senses  of  the  soul  being  now  awake,  and 
capable  of  discerning  spiritual  good  and  evil.* 

*♦  The  eyes  of  his  understanding  are  now  open,  and  he  seeth 
Him  that  is  invisible.  He  sees  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  his  power,  and  of  his  love  toward  them  that  believe.  He 
sees  that  God  is  merciful  to  him,  a  sinner ;  that  he  is  reconciled 
through  the  Son  of  his  love.  He  clearly  perceives  both  the  par- 
doning love  of  God  and  all  his  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises.  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  dark- 
ness, hath  shined,  and  doth  shine,  in  his  heart,  to  enlighten  him 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ.  All  the  darkness  is  now  passed  away,  and  he  abides  in 
the  light  of  God's  countenance. 

"  His  ears  are  now  opened,  and  the  voice  of  God  no  longer 
calls  in  vain.  He  hears,  and  obeys  the  heavenly  calling:  he 
'  knows  the  voice  of  his  Shepherd.'  All  his  spiritual  senses  being 
now  awakened,  he  has  a  clear  intercourse  with  the  invisible 
world.  And  hence  he  knows  more  and  more  of  the  things  which 
before  '  it  could  not  enter  into  his  heart  to  conceive.'  He  now 
knows  what  the  peace  of  God  is  :  what  is  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 

*  Wherein  differs  reason  from  the  spirit,  in  and  to  a  man,  if  (as  I  believe)  reason 
be  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  a  finite  understanding— at  once  the  light  and  in- 
ward eye  ?  I  answer,  Even  as  the  sense  of  light,  in  the  absence  of  the  sense  of  touch, 
and  its  accompanying  sensation  or  feeling,  would  diSerfrom  the  joint  impresdon  from 
the  eye  aod  the  single  and  double  touch. — S.  T.  C.      .  .i....  ^  w  


416 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


what  the  love  of  God  which  is  shed  abroad  in  the  hearts  of  them 
that  beheve  in  him  through  Christ  Jesus.  Thus  the  veil  being 
removed,  which  before  intercepted  the  light  and  voice,  the  knowl- 
edge and  love  of  God,  he  who  is  born  of  the  Spirit,  dwelling  in 
love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  iu  him." —  Wesley's  Works,  vol. 
vii.  p.  268. 

NOTE  V.    (Page  67.) 
He  entangled  himself  in  contradictions. 

*'  The  expression  being  born  again,  was  not  first  used  by  our 
Lord  in  his  conversation  with  Nicodemus.  It  was  in  common 
use  among  the  Jews  when  our  Savior  appeared  among  them. 
When  an  adult  heathen  was  convinced  that  the  Jewish  religion 
was  of  God,  and  desired  to  join  therein,  it  was  the  custom  to 
baptize  him  first,  before  he  was  admitted  to  circumcision.  And 
when  he  was  baptized,  he  was  said  to  be  born  again ;  by  which 
they  meant,  that  he  who  was  before  a  child  of  the  devil,  was 
now  adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  accounted  one  of  his 
children."— Vol.  vii.  p.  296. 

Yet,  in  the  same  sermon  Wesley  affirms,  "that  baptism  is 
not  the  New  Birth,  that  they  are  not  one  and  the  same  thing. 
Many  indeed  seem  to  imagine  that  they  are  just  the  same  ;  at 
least  they  speak  as  if  they  thought  so ;  but  I  do  not  know  that 
this  opinion  is  publicly  avowed,  by  any  denomination  of  Christians 
whatever.  Certainly  it  is  not  by  any  within  these  kingdoms, 
whether  of  the  Established  Church  or  dissenting  from  it.  The 
judgment  of  the  latter  is  clearly  declared  in  their  large  cate- 
chism :  '  Q.  What  are  the  parts  of  a  Sacrament  ?  A.  The  parts 
of  a  Sacrament  are  two ;  the  one  an  outward  and  sensible  sign, 
the  other  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace  signified.  Q.  What  is 
Baptism  ?  A.  Baptism  is  a  sacrament,  wherein  Christ  hath 
ordained  the  washing  with  water  to  be  a  sign  and  seal  of  regen- 
eraion  by  his  Spirit.'  Here  it  is  manifest,  baptism,  the  sign,  is 
spoken  of  as  distinct  from  regeneration,  the  thing  signified." 

Where  was  Wesley's  logic  ?  or  where  his  fairness  ?  Can  any 
thing  be  more  evident,  than  that  this  catechism  describes  regen- 
eration as  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace,  and  the  act  of  baptism 
(sprinkling  or  immersion)  as  the  outward  and  visible  sign  ?*  What 
follows  is  as  bad. 

*  Well:  and  what  then ?  Southey  forgets  that  washing  with  water  is  the  cate- 
chismal  translation  of  the  Greek  word  Baptism  ;  and  that  the  latter  is  not  a  larger 
term  comprehending  the  former  as  one  of  iu  two  parts.  Now,  just  put  the  words 
washing  with  water,  instead  of  its  Greek  Equipollent;  or  rather,  omit  the  word,  as 
it  would  have  been  omitted  in  any  other  mode  of  writing  but  that  of  catechetic,  in 
which  the  last  word  of  the  question  is  always  tl^e  first  of  the  answer.  "  What  is 
Baptism?" — "  A  Sacrament,  in  which  the  Baptism,  or  washing  with  water,  is  made 
a  sign  and  seal  of  Regeneration."  Wesley  does  not  deny  that  the  Regeneration  must 
either  have  preceded  or  accompanied  the  Baptism,  in  order  to  be  sealed  by  it.  But 
Southey  can  not  be  ignorant  how  many  pious  and  zealous  sons  of  the  Church,  whom 
no  one  suspects  of  any  Puritan  taint  (such  as  George  Herbert  and  the  Author  of  the 
"Synagogue")  considered  the  hypothesis  of  Anticipation  us  a  doctrine  that  ought 
to  be  tolerated  ia  the  Church ;  it  being  evident  that  the  Gospel  coAditions,  which  ore 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


417 


*'  In  the  Church  Catechism  Jikewise,  the  judgment  of  our 
Church  is  declared  with  the  utmost  clearness.  '  Q.  What 
meanest  thou  by  this  word  Sacrament  ?  A.  1  mean  an  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace.  Q.  What  is 
the  outward  part  or  form  in  baptism  ?  A .  Water,  wherein  the 
person  is  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost.  Q.  What  is  the  inward  parts,  or  thing  signified  ?  A.  A 
death  unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteousness.'  Nothing, 
therefore,  is  plainer  than  that,  according  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, baptism  is  not  the  New  Birth." 

I  do  not  believe  that  an  instance  of  equal  blindness*  or  disin- 
genuity  (whichever  it  may  be  thought)  can  be  found  in  all  the 
other  parts  of  Wesley's  works.  So  plain  is  it  that  the  words  of 
the  catechism  mean  precisely  what  Wesley  affirms  they  do 
not  mean,  that,  in  the  very  next  page,  he  contradicts  himself  in 
the  clearest  manner,  and  says,  "it  is  certain,  our  Church  suppo- 
ses, that  all  who  are  baptized  in  their  infancy  are  at  the  same 
time  born  again.  And  it  is  allowed,  that  the  whole  office  the 
the  baptism  of  infants  proceeds  upon  this  supposition.  Nor  is 
it  an  objection  of  any  weight  against  this,  that  we  can  not  com- 
prehend how  this  work  can  be  wrought  in  infants." — Vol.  vii. 
p.  302. 

NOTE  VI.    (Page  G9.) 

Instantaneous  Conversion. 

"An  observation,"  says  Toplady,  "which  I  met  with  in  read- 
ing Downmane's  Christian  Warfare,  struck  me  much :  speaking 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  sealer  of  the  Elect,  he  asks,  how  is  it 
possible  to  receive  the  seal  without  feeling  the  impression." 

"  Lord,"  says  Fuller,  in  one  of  his  Scripture  Observations,  "  I 
read  of  my  Savior,  that  when  he  was  in  the  wilderness,  then  the 
devil  leaveth  him,  and  behold  angels  came  and  ministered  unto 
him.  A  great  change  in  a  little  time.  No  twilight  betwixt  night 
and  day.  No  purgatory  condition  betwixt  hell  and  heaven,  but 
instantly,  when  out  devil,  in  angel.  Such  is  the  case  of  every 
solitary  soul.  It  will  make  company  for  itself.  A  musing  mind 
will  not  stand  neuter  a  minute,  but  presently  side  with  legions  of 

essential  parts  of  true  Baptism,  are  anticipated.  Above  all,  Southey  should  consider 
that  if  Regeneration  mean  Baptism,  then  Baptism  must  mean  Regeneration  :  for 
surely  he  will  not  say  that  the  Regeneration  required  by  Christ  in  his  conversation 
with  Nicodemus  meant  no  more  than  the  common  ceremony  of  immersing  proselytes 
with  which  Nicodemus,  a  doctor  in  Israel,  could  not  but  be  familiar? 

Suppose  an  estate  conferred  on  an  infant,  under  condition  of  maintaining  such  and 
such  charities,  which  his  guardians  accept  for  him,  promising,  in  the  mean  time,  to 
take  all  the  requisite  measures  for  his  due  performance  of  these  conditions  when  of 
age  to  do  so  ;  on  passing  out  of  his  minority  he  comes  to  his  estate,  having  satisfied 
the  conditions.— S.  T.  C 

*  [I  agree  with  Southey  that  this  Treatise  on  Baptism  is  a  capital  instance  of  blind- 
ness, and  such  as  is  not  equalled  in  any  other  part  of  Wesley's  works.  The  difficulty 
arose  from  a  hopeless  attempt  to  reconcile  the  Church  Catechism  and  ritual  to  the 
New  Testament.— ./3m.  Ed.] 

S* 


418 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


good  or  bad  thoughts.  Grant,  therefore  that  my  soul,  which  ever 
will  have  some,  may  never  have  bad  company." 

NOTE  VII.    (Page  70.) 

Salvation  not  to  be  sought  by  Works. 

This  doctrine  is  stated  with  perilous  indiscretion  in  one  of  the 
Moravian  hymns : — 

When  any,  through  a  beam  of  light. 

Can  see  and  own  they  are  not  right, 

But  enter  on  a  legal  strife. 

Amend  their  former  course  of  life, 
And  work  and  toil,  and  sweat  from  day  to  day, 
Such,  to  their  Savior  quite  mistake  the  way. 

NOTE  VIII.    (Page  70.) 
Faith. 

In  methodistical  and  mystical  biogi-aphy,  the  reader  will  some- 
times be  reminded  of  these  lines  in  Ovid  : — 

Inprece  totus  eram,  coelestia  numina  scnsi, 

Lcetaque  purpurea  luce  refulsit  humus. 
Non  equidem  vidi  {valeant  mendacia  vatum  !) 

Te,  Dea  ;  nec  fueras  adspicienda  viro. 
Sed  quce  nescieram,  quorumque  errore  tenebar, 

Cognita  sunt,  nulla  prcBcipiente,  mihi. 

OviD,  Fast.,  vi.  251-254. 


NOTE  IX.    (Page  74.) 
Assurance. 

There  is  a  good  story  of  Assurance  in  Belknap's  History  of  New 
Hampshire  : — "  A  certain  captain,  John  Underhill,  in  the  days 
of  Puritanism,  affirmed,  that  having  long  lain  under  a  spirit  of 
bondage,  he  could  get  no  assurance ;  till  at  length,  as  he  was  tak- 
ing a  pipe  of  tobacco,  the  Spirit  set  home  upon  him  an  absolute 
promise  of  free  grace,  with  such  assurance  and  joy,  that  he  had 
never  since  doubted  of  his  good  estate,  neither  should  he,  what- 
ever sins  he  might  fall  into.  And  he  endeavored  to  prove  '  that 
as  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  convert  Saul,  while  he  was  persecut- 
ing, so  he  might  manifest  himself  to  him  while  making  a  mod- 
erate use  of  the  good  creature  tobacco  ."  This  was  one  of  the 
things  for  which  he  was  questioned  and  censured  by  the  elders 
of  Boston." — Vol.  i.  p.  42. 

"  Another,"  says  South,  "  flatters  himself,  that  he  has  lived  in 
full  assurance  of  his  salvation  for  ten  or  twenty,  or,  perhaps, 
thirty  years ;  that  is,  in  other  words,  the  man  has  been  ignorant 
and  confident  very  long." 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


419 


NOTE  X.    (Page  75.) 
Perfection. 

The  Gospel  Magazine  contains  a  likely  anecdote  concerning 
this  curious  doctrine.  "A  lady  of  my  acquaintance,"  says  the 
^VTiter,  "  had.  in  the  early  stage  of  her  religious  profession,  very 
closely  attached  herself  to  a  society  of  avowed  Arminians ;  she 
had  imbibed  all  their  notions,  and  among  the  rest,  that  of  sinless 
perfection.  What  she  had  been  taught  to  believe  attainable,  she 
at  last  concluded  she  had  herself  attained  as  perfectly  as  any  of 
the  perfect  class  in  Mr.  Wesley's  societies ;  and  she  accordingly 
went  so  far  as  to  profess  she  had  obtained  what  they  call  the  '  sec- 
ond blessing,'  that  is,  an  eradication  of  all  sin,  and  a  heart  filled  with 
nothing  but  pure  and  perfect  love.  A  circumstance,  however,  not 
long  after  occurred,  which  gave  a  complete  shock  to  her  self-right- 
eous presumption,  as  well  as  to  the  principles  from  whence  it  sprung. 
Her  husband  having  one  day  contradicted  her  opinion  and  con- 
trolled her  will,  in  a  matter  where  he  thought  himself  authorized  to 
do  both  one  and  the  other,  the  perfect  lady  felt  herself  so  ex- 
tremely angry,  that,  as  she  declared  to  me,  she  could  have  boxed 
his  ears,  and  had  great  difficulty  to  refrain  from  some  act  declar- 
ative of  the  emotions  of  rising  passion  and  resentment.  Alarm- 
ed at  what  she  felt,  and  not  knowing  how  to  account  for  such  un- 
hallowed sensations  in  a  heart  in  which,  as  she  thought,  all  sin 
had  been  done  away,  she  ran  for  explanation  to  the  leader  of  the 
perfect  band.  To  her  she  related  ingenuously  all  that  passed  in 
the  interview  with  her  husband.  The  band-leader,  instructed  in 
the  usual  art  of  administering  consolation,  though  at  the  expense  of 
truth  and  rectitude,  replied,  '  What  you  felt  on  that  occasion,  my 
dear,  was  nothing  but  a  little  animal  nature !'  My  friend,  being 
a  lady  of  too  much  sense  and  too  much  honesty  to  be  imposed 
upon  by  such  a  delusory  explanation,  exclaimed,  'Animal  na- 
ture! No;  it  was  animal  devil!'  From  that  moment  she  bid 
adieu  to  perfection,  and  its  concomitant  delusions,  as  well  as  to 
those  who  are  led  by  them." 

"  Gnat-strainers,"  says  Toplady  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  are 
too  often  camel-swallowers  ;  and  the  Pharisaical  mantle  of  super- 
stitious austerity  is,  very  frequently,  a  cover  for  a  cloven  foot. 
Beware,  then,  of  driving  too  furiously  at  first  setting  out.  Take 
the  cool  of  the  day.  Begin  as  you  can  hold  on.  I  knew  a  lady, 
who,  to  prove  herself  perfect,  ripped  oflf  her  flounces,  and  would 
not  wear  an  earring,  a  necklace,  a  ring,  or  an  inch  of  lace.  Ruf- 
fles were  Babylonish.  Powder  was  anti-Christian.  A  ribbon  was 
carnal.  A  snuff-box  smelled  of  the  bottomless  pit.  And  yet,  un- 
der all  this  parade  of  outside  humility,  the  fair  ascetic  was — but 
I  forbear  entering  into  particulars :  suffice  it  to  say,  that  she 
was  a  concealed  Antinomian.  And  I  have  known  too  many  sim- 
ilar instances." 


420 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


NOTE  XI.    (Page  77.) 
Ministry  of  Angels. 

Upon  this  subject  Charles  Wesley  has  thus  expressed  himself, 
in  a  sermon  upon  Psalm  xci.  11  :  "  He  shall  give  his  Angels 
charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways^ 

"  By  these  perfections,  streogth,  and  wisdom,  they  are  well 
able  to  preserve  us  either  from  the  approach  (if  that  be  more 
profitable  for  us)  or  in  the  attack  of  any  evil.  By  their  wisdom 
they  discern  whatever  either  obstructs  or  promotes  our  real  ad- 
vantage ;  by  their  strength  they  effectually  repel  the  one  and  se- 
cure a  free  course  to  the  other :  by  the  first,  they  choose  means 
conducive  to  these  ends ;  by  the  second  they  put  them  in  execu- 
tion. One  particular  method  of  preserving  good  men,  which  we 
may  reasonably  suppose  these  wise  beings  sometimes  choose,  and 
by  their  strength  put  in  execution,  is  the  altering  some  material 
cause  that  would  have  a  pernicious  effect;  the  purifying  (for  in- 
stance) tainted  air,  which  would  otherwise  produce  a  contagious 
distemper.  And  this  they  may  easily  do,  either  by  increasing 
the  current  of  it,  so  as  naturally  to  cleanse  its  putridity ;  or,  by 
mixing  with  it  some  other  substance,  so  to  correct  its  hurtful 
qualities,  and  render  it  salubrious  to  human  bodies.  Another 
method  they  may  be  supposed  to  adopt  when  their  commission 
is  not  so  general ;  when  they  are  authorized  to  preserve  some 
few  persons  from  a  common  calamity.  It  then  is  probable  that 
they  do  not  alter  the  cause,  but  the  subject  on  which  it  is  to  work; 
that  they  do  not  lessen  the  strength  of  the  one,  but  increase  that 
of  the  other.  Thus,  too,  where  they  are  not  allowed  to  prevent, 
they  may  remove,  pain  or  sickness;  thus  the  angel  restored 
Daniel  in  a  moment,  when  neither  sti'eugth  or  breath  remained 
in  him. 

"  By  these  means,  by  changing  either  our  bodies  or  the  mate- 
rial causes  that  use  to  affect  them,  they  may  easily  defend  us 
from  all  bodily  evils,  so  far  as  is  expedient  for  us.  A  third  meth- 
od they  may  be  conceived  to  employ  to  defend  us  from  spiritual 
dangers,  by  applying  themselves  immediately  to  the  soul  to  raise 
or  allay  our  passions ;  and,  indeed,  this  province  seems  more  nat- 
ural to  them  than  either  of  the  former.  How  a  spiritual  being 
can  act  upon  matter  seems  more  unaccountable  than  how  it  can 
act  on  spirit :  that  one  immaterial  being,  by  touching  another, 
should  increase  or  lessen  its  motion  ;  that  an  angel  should  retard 
or  quicken  the  channel  wherein  the  passions  of  angelic  substance 
flow,  no  more  excites  our  astonishment  than  that  one  piece  of 
matter  should  have  the  same  effect  on  its  kindred  substance  ;  or 
that  a  flood-gate,  or  other  material  insti'ument,  should  affect  the 
course  of  a  river  :  rather  considering  how  contagious  the  nature 
of  the  passions  is,  the  wonder  is  on  the  other  side  ;  not  how  they 
can  avoid  to  affect  him  at  all,  but  how  they  can  avoid  affecting 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONa. 


421 


them  more ;  how  they  can  continue  so  near  us,  who  are  so  sub- 
ject to  catch  them,  without  spreading  the  flames  which  burn  in 
themselves.  And  a  plain  instance  of  their  power  to  allay  human 
passions  is  afforded  us  in  the  case  of  Daniel,  when  he  beheld  that 
gloriously-terrible  minister,  whose  '  face  was  as  the  appearance 
of  lightning,  and  his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire ;  his  arms  and  feet  like 
polished  brass,  and  his  voice  as  the  voice  of  a  multitude,'  x.  6  ; 
when  the  tears  and  sorrows  of  the  Prophet  were  turned  so  strong 
upon  him,  that  he  was  in  a  deep  sleep,  void  of  sense  and  motion. 
Yet  this  fear,  these  turbulent  passions,  the  angel  allayed  in  a  mo- 
ment ;  when  they  were  hurrying  on  with  the  utmost  impetuosity, 
he  checked  them  in  their  course ;  so  that  immediately  after  we 
find  Daniel  desiring  the  continuance  of  that  converse  which  be- 
fore he  was  utterly  unable  to  sustain. 

"  The  same  effect  was,  doubtless,  wrought  on  all  those  to  whom 
these  superior  beings,  on  their  first  appearance,  used  this  saluta- 
tion— *  Fear  not which  would  have  been  a  mere  insult  and  cruel 
mockery  upon  human  weakness,  had  they  not,  with  that  advice, 
given  the  power  to  follow  it.  Nearly  allied  to  this  method  of  in- 
fluencing the  passions,  is  the  last  I  intend  to  mention,  by  which 
the  angels  (it  is  probable)  preserve  good  men,  especially  in  or 
from  spiritual  dangers.  And  this  is  by  applying  themselves  to 
their  reason,  by  instilling  good  thoughts  into  their  hearts  ;  either 
such  as  are  good  in  their  own  nature,  as  tend  to  our  improvement 
in  virtue,  or  such  as  are  contrary  to  the  suggestions  of  flesh  and 
blood,  by  which  we  are  tempted  to  vice.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
we  are  indebted  to  tViem,  not  only  for  the  most  of  those  reflections 
which  suddenly  dart  into  our  minds,  we  know  not  how,  having 
no  connection  with  any  thing  that  went  before  them  ;  but  for 
many  of  those  also  which  seem  entirely  our  own,  and  naturally 
consequent  from  the  preceding." 

NOTE  XII.    (Page  78.) 

Agency  of  evil  Spirits. 

"Let  us  consider,"  says  Wesley,  "what  may  be  the  employ- 
ment of  unholy  spirits  from  death  to  the  resurrection.  "We 
can  not  doubt  but  the  moment  they  leave  the  body,  they  find 
themselves  surrounded  by  spirits  of  their  own  kind,  probably 
human  as  well  as  diabolical.  What  power  God  may  permit 
these  to  exercise  over  them,  we  do  not  distinctly  know.  But  it  is 
not  improbable,  he  may  suffer  Satan  to  employ  them,  as  he  does 
his  own  angels,  in  inflicting  death,  or  evils  of  various  kinds,  on  the 
men  that  know  not  God.  For  this  end,  they  may  raise  storms 
by  sea  or  by  land;  they  may  shoot  meteors  through  the  air;  they 
may  occasion  earthquakes  ;  and,  in  numberless  ways,  afflict  those 
whom  they  are  not  suffered  to  destroy.  Where  they  are  not 
permitted  to  take  away  life,  they  may  inflict  various  diseases, 
and  many  of  these,  which  we  may  judge  to  be  natural,  are  un 


422 


Notes  and  illustrations. 


doubtedly  diabolical.  I  believe  this  is  frequently  the  case  with 
lunatics.  It  is  observable  that  many  of  these,  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  who  are  called  lunatics  by  one  of  the  Evangelists,  are 
termed  demoniacs  by  another.  One  of  the  most  eminent  phy- 
sicians I  ever  knew,  particularly  in  cases  of  insanity,  the  late  Dr. 
Deacon,  was  clearly  of  opinion  that  this  was  the  case  with  many, 
if  not  with  most  lunatics.  And  it  is  no  valid  objection  to  this, 
that  these  diseases  are  so  often  cured  by  natural  means  ;  for  a 
wound  inflicted  by  an  evil  spirit  might  be  cured  as  any  other, 
unless  that  spirit  were  permitted  to  repeat  the  blow. 

"  May  not  some  of  these  evil  spirits  be  likewise  employed,  in 
conjunction  with  evil  angels,  in  tempting  wicked  men  to  sin,  and 
in  procuring  occasions  for  them  ?  Yea,  and  in  tempting  good 
men  to  sin,  even  after  they  escaped  the  con-uption  that  is  in  the 
world.  Herein,  doubtless,  they  put  forth  all  their  strength,  and 
greatly  glory  if  they  conquer." — Vol.  xi.  p.  31. 

"  The  ingenious  Dr.  Cheyne,"  says  one  of  Mr.  AVesley's  cor- 
respondents, "reckons  all  gloomy  wrong-headedness,  and  spuri- 
ous free-thinking,  so  many  symptoms  of  bodily  diseases  :  and,  I 
think,  says,  the  human  organs,  in  some  nervous  distempers,  may, 
perhaps,  be  rendered  fit  for  the  actuation  of  demons  :  and  advises 
religion  as  an  excellent  remedy.  Nor  is  this  unlikely  to  be  my 
own  case  ;  for  a  nervous  disease  of  some  years'  standing  rose  to 
its  height  in  1748,  and  I  was  attacked  in  proportion  by  irreligious 
opinions.  The  medicinal  part  of  his  advice,  a  vegetable  diet,  at 
last,  cured  my  dreadful  distemper.  It  is  natural  to  think  the 
spiritual  part  of  his  advice  equally  good ;  and  shall  I  neglect  it, 
because  I  am  now  in  health?  God  forbid!" — John  Walsh.  Ar- 
minian  Magazincy  vol.  ii.  p.  433. 

NOTE  XIII.    (Page  81.) 

Immortality  of  Animals. 

On  this  point  Wesley's  bitterest  opponent  agreed  with  him. 
"I  will  honestly  confess,"  says  Toplady,  "that  I  never  yet  heard 
one  single  argument  urged  against  the  immortality  of  brutes, 
which,  if  admitted,  would  not,  mutatis  mutandis,  be  equally  con- 
clusive against  the  immortality  of  man." 

NOTE  XIV.    (Page  93.) 
Itinerancy. 

There  are  some  things  in  the  system  of  the  Methodists  which 
very  much  resemble  certain  arrangements  proposed  by  John 
Knox  and  his  colleagues  in  the  First  Book  of  Discipline.  "  It  was 
found  necessary,"  says  Dr.  M'Crie,  "to  employ  some  persons  in 
extraordinary  and  temporary  charges.  As  there  was  not  a 
sufficient  number  of  ministers  to  supply  the  different  parts  of  the 
country,  that  the  people  might  not  be  left  altogether  destitute  of 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


423 


public  worship  and  instruction,  certain  pious  persons  who  had 
received  a  common  education,  were  appointed  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures and  the  Common  Prayers.  These  were  called  Readers. 
In  large  parishes  persons  of  this  description  were  also  employed 
to  relieve  the  ministers  from  a  part  of  the  public  service.  If  they 
advanced  in  knowledge,  they  were  encouraged  to  add  a  few  plain 
exhortations  to  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  In  that  case  they 
were  called  Exhorters  ;  but  they  were  examined  and  admitted, 
before  entering  upon  this  employment. 

"  The  same  cause  gave  rise  to  another  temporary  expedient. 
Instead  of  fixing  all  the  ministers  in  particular  charges,  it  was 
judged  proper,  after  supplying  the  principal  towns,  to  assign  to 
the  rest  the  superintendence  of  a  large  district,  over  which  they 
were  appointed  regularly  to  travel  for  the  purpose  of  preaching, 
of  planting  churches,  and  inspecting  the  conduct  of  ministers, 
exhorters,  and  readers.  These  were  called  Superintendents. 
The  number  originally  proposed  was  ten  ;  but  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  proper  persons,  or  rather  to  the  want  of  necessary 
funds,  there  were  never  more  than  six  appointed.  The  deficien- 
cy was  supplied  by  Commissioners  or  Visitors,  appointed  from 
time  to  time  by  the  General  Assembly." — Life  of  Knox,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  6,  7. 

'*  We  were  not  the  first  itinerant  preachers  in  England,"  says 
Wesley :  "  twelve  were  appointed  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  travel 
continually,  in  order  to  spread  true  religion  through  the  kingdom. 
And  the  office  and  salary  still  continues,  though  their  work  is 
little  attended  to.  Mr.  Milner,  late  Vicar  of  Chipping,  in  Lan- 
cashire, was  one  of  them." 

Itinerant  preaching  (without  referring  to  the  obvious  fact,  that 
the  first  preachers  of  Christianity  in  any  country  must  necessa- 
rily have  been  itinerant)  is  of  a  much  earher  origin  than  Wesley 
has  here  supposed.  It  was  the  especial  business  of  the  Domin- 
icans, and  was  practiced  by  the  other  mendicant  orders,  and  by 
the  Jesuits.  And  it  was  practiced  long  before  the  institution  of 
these  orders. 

St.  Cuthbert  used  to  itinerate  when  he  was  abbot  of  Melrose, 
as  his  predecessor  St.  Boisil  had  done  before  him ;  and  Bede  tells 
us  that  all  persons  eagerly  flocked  to  listen  to  these  preachers. 

"  Nec  solum  ipsi  monasterio  regularis  vita  monita,  simul  et  ex- 
empla  prcsbebat ;  sedetvulgus  circumpositum  longe  lateque  a  vita 
tultce  consuetudinis  ad  codestium  gaudiorum  convertere  curabat 
amorem.  Nam  et  multi fidem  quam  habebant,  iniquis  profanabant 
operibus  ;  et  aliqui  etiam  tempore  mortalitatis  neglectis  Jidei  sacra- 
mentis  ( quibus  erant  imbuti )  ad  erratica  idololatrice  medicamina 
concurrebant,  quasi  missam  a  Deo  conditore  plagam,  per  incanta- 
tiones,  vel  philacteria,  vel  alia  qucelibet  dccmoniaccB  artis  arcana, 
cohiberevalerent.  Ad  utrorumque  ergo  corrigendum  errorem,  cre- 
hro  ipse  de  inonasterio  egressus,  aliquotiens  equo  sedens,  sed  sapius 
pedibus  incedens,  circumpositas  veniebat  ad  villas,  et  viam  verita- 
tis  pradicabat  errantibus  ;  quod  ipsum  etiam  Boisil  sua  tempore 


424 


NOTES    AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


facere  consueverat.  Erat  quippe  moris  eo  tempore  papulis  Anglo- 
rum,  ut  veniente  in  viLlam  clerico  vel  presbytero,  cuncli  ad  ejus 
imperiuniy  verbum  audituri  conjluerent,  libenter  ea  qucs  dicerentur 
audirent,  libentius  ea  quce  audire  et  intelligere  poterant  operando 
sequerentur. — Solebat  autem  ea  maxime  loca  peragrare,  et  ilLis 
prcedicare  in  viculis,  qui  in  arduis  asperisque  montibus  procul 
jpositi,  aliis  horrori  erant  ad  visendum,  et  paupertate  pariter  ac 
Tusticitate  sua  doctorum  prohibebant  accessum  :  quos  tamen  ille, 
pio  libenter  mancipatus  labori,  tantd  doctrints  excolebat  industrid, 
ut  de  monasterio  egrediens,  seepe  hebdomadd  integrd,  aliquando 
duabus  vel  tribus,  nonnunquam  etiam  mense  pleno  domum  nan 
rediret :  sed  demoratus  in  montanis,  plebem  rusticam  verbo  prce- 
dicationis  simul  et  exemplo  virtutis  ad  codestia  vocaret.^^ — Beda, 
1.  4.  c.  27. 

St.  Chad  used  to  itinerate  on  foot.  "  Consecratus  ergo  in  epi- 
scopatum  Ceadda,  maximam  mox  ccepit  Ecdesiasticee  veritate  et 
castitati  curani  impendere  ;  humilitati,  continenti(E,  lectioni  ope- 
rant dare  ;  oppida,  rura,  casas,  vicos,  castella,  propter  evangelizan- 
dum  non  equitando,  sed  Apostolorum  more  pedibus  incedendo pera- 
grare.'' (Beda.  1.  3.  c.  28.)  In  this  he  followed  the  example  of 
his  master  Aidan,  till  the  primate  compelled  him  to  ride  :"  Et  quia 
moris  erat  eidem  reverendissimo  antistiti  opus  Evangelii  magis 
ambulando  per  loca,  quam  equitando  perjicere,  jussit  eum  Theo- 
dorus,  ubicumque  longius  iterinstaret,  equitare  ;  multumque  reni- 
tentem  studio  et  amore  pii  laboris,  ipse  eum  manu  sua  levavit  in 
equum  ;  quia  nimirum  sanctum  virum  esse  comperit,  atque  equo 
vehi  quo  esset  necesse,  compulity — Beda,  1.  4.  c.  3. 

NOTE  XV.    (Page  97.) 

2'he  Select  Bands. 

"  The  utility  of  these  meetings  appears  from  the  following 
considerations.  St.  John  divides  the  followers  of  God  into  three 
classes  (1  St.  John,  ii.  12).  St.  Paul  exhorts  ministers  to  give 
every  one  his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season.  And  there  were 
some  things  which  our  Lord  did  not  make  known  to  his  disciples 
till  after  his  ascension,  when  they  were  prepared  for  them  by 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  These  meetings  give  the  preach- 
ers an  opportunity  of  speaking  of  the  deep  things  of  God,  and  of 
exhorting  the  members  to  press  after  the  full  image  of  God. 
They  also  form  a  bulwark  to  the  doctrine  of  Christian  perfec- 
tion. It  is  a  pity  that  so  few  of  the  people  embrace  this  privi- 
lege, and  that  every  preacher  does  not  warmly  espouse  such 
profitable  meetings." — Myles's  Chronological  History  of  the  Meth- 
odists, p.  34. 

The  following  letter  upon  this  subject  (transcribed  from  the 
original,  which  was  written  by  Mr.  Wesley  a  few  weeks  only  be- 
fore his  death)  shows  how  easily  a  select  society  was  disturbed 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  425 

by  puzzling  questions  concerning  the  perfection  which  the  mem- 
bers professed. 

*'  To  Mr.  Edward  Lewly,  Birmingham. 

"  MT  DEAR  BROTHER,  London,  January.  12.  1791. 

"  I  do  not  believe  a  single  person  in  your  select  society  scru- 
ples saying, 

Every  moment  Lord,  I  need 
The  merit  of  thy  death. 

This  is  clearly  determined  in  the  'Thoughts  upon  Perfection,' 
But  who  expects  common  people  to  speak  accurately  ?  And 
how  easy  is  it  to  entangle  them  in  their  talk  !  1  am  afraid  some 
have  done  this  already.  A  man  that  is  not  a  thorough  friend  to 
Christian  Perfection  will  easily  puzzle  others,  and  thereby  weak- 
en, if  not  destroy,  any  select  society.  I  doubt  this  has  been  the 
case  with  you.  That  society  was  in  a  lively  state  and  well  uni- 
ted together  when  I  was  last  at  Birmingham.  My  health  has 
been  better  for  a  few  days  than  it  has  been  for  several  months. 
Peace  be  with  all  your  spirits.    I  am  your  affectionate  Brother, 

"J.  Wesley" 

NOTE  XVI.    (Page  101.) 
Psalmody^ 

About  this  time,  David's  Psalms  were  translated  into  English 
meter,  and  (if  not  publicly  commanded)  generally  permitted  to 
be  sung  in  all  churches.  The  work  was  performed  by  Thomas 
Sternhold  (an  Hampshire  man,  esquire,  and  of  the  Privy-cham- 
ber to  King  Edward  the  Sixth,  who  for  his  part  translated  thirty- 
seven  selected  psalms),  John  Hopkins,  Robert  Wisedome,  &c., 
men,  whose  piety  was  better  than  their  poetry;  and  they  had 
drank  more  of  Jordan  than  of  Helicon.  These  Psalms  were 
therefore  translated,  to  make  them  more  portable  in  people's 
memories  (verses  being  twice  as  light  as  the  selfsame  bulk  in 
prose),  as  also  to  raise  men's  affections,  the  better  to  enable  them 
to  practice  the  Apostle's  precept,  '  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing 
psalms.'  Yet  this  work  met  afterward  with  some  frowns  in  the 
faces  of  great  clergymen,  who  were  rather  contented,  than  well 
pleased,  with  the  singing  of  them  in  churches.  I  will  not  say, 
because  they  misliked  so  much  liberty  should  be  allowed  the  laity 
(Rome  only  can  be  guilty  of  so  great  envy)  as  to  sing  in  churches  : 
rather,  because  they  conceived  these  singing-psalms  erected  in 
conviviality  and  opposition  to  the  reading-psalms  which  were 
formerly  sung  in  cathedral  churches  :  or  else,  the  child  was  dis- 
liked for  the  mother's  sake;  because,  such  translators,  though 
branched  hither,  had  their  root  in  Geneva. 

"  Since,  later  men  have  vented  their  just  exceptions  against 
the  baldness  of  the  translation,  so  that  sometimes  they  make  the 


426  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Maker  of  the  tongue  to  speak  little  better  than  barbarism  ;  and 
have  in  many  verses  such  poor  rhime,  that  two  hammers  on  a 
smith's  anvil  would  make  better  music.  While  others  (rather 
to  excuse  it  than  defend  it)  do  plead,  that  English  poetry  was 
then  in  the  nonage,  not  to  say  infancy,  thereof ;  and  that,  match 
these  verses  for  their  age,  they  shall  go  abreast  with  the  best 
poems  of  those  times.  Some,  in  favour  of  the  translators,  allege, 
that  to  be  curious  therein,  and  over-descanting  with  wit^  had  not 
become  the  plain  song,  and  simplicity  of  an  holy  style.  But 
these  must  know,  there  is  great  difference  between  painting  a 
face  and  not  washing  it.  Many  since  have  far  refined  these 
translations,  but  yet  their  labours  therein  never  generally  received 
in  the  church ;  principally  because  un-booklearned  people  have  con- 
ned by  heart  many  psalms  of  the  old  translation,  which  would  be 
wholly  disinherited  of  their  patrimony  if  a  new  edition  were  set 
forth.  However,  it  is  desired,  and  expected  by  moderate  men,  that, 
though  the  fabric  stand  unremoved  from  the  main,  yet  some  bad  con- 
trivance therein  may  by  mended,  and  the  bald  rhimes  in  some  places 
get  a  new  nap,  which  would  not  much  discompose  the  memory  of  the 
people." — Fuller's  Church  History,  Cent.  XVI.,  book  vii.  p.  406. 

In  a  letter  of  Jewel's,  written  in  1560,  he  says,  "that  a  change 
appeared  no  more  visible  among  the  people.  Nothing  promoted 
it  more  than  the  inviting  the  people  to  sing  psalms.  That  was 
begim  in  one  church  in  London,  and  did  quickly  spread  itself, 
not  only  through  the  city,  but  in  the  neighboring  places.  Some- 
times at  Paul's  Cross  there  will  be  six  thousand  people  singing 
together.  This  was  very  grievous  to  the  papists." — Burnet's 
Reformation,  part  iii.  p.  290. 

*'  There  are  two  things,"  says  Wesley,  "  in  all  modern  pieces 
of  music,  which  I  could  never  reconcile  to  common  sense.  One 
is,  singing  the  same  words  ten  times  over;  the  other,  singing 
different  words  by  different  persons  at  one  and  the  same  time, 
and  this  in  the  most  solemn  addresses  to  God,  whether  by  way 
of  prayer  or  of  thanksgiving.  This  can  never  be  defended  by  all 
the  musicians  in  Europe,  till  reason  is  quite  out  of  date." — Jour- 
nal, xiii.  p.  56. 

And  again,  officiating  in  the  church  at  Neath,  he  says  :  "  I  was 
gi-eatly  disgusted  at  the  manner  of  singing.  First,  twelve  or  four- 
teen persons  kept  it  to  themselves,  and  quit  shut  out  the  congre- 
gation. Secondly,  these  repeated  the  same  words,  contrary  to 
all  sense  and  reason,  six,  eight,  or  ten  times  over.  Thirdly,  ac- 
cording to  the  shocking  custom  of  modern  music,  different  per- 
sons sung  different  words  at  one  and  the  same  moment — an  in- 
tolerable insult  on  common  sense,  and  utterly  incompatible  with 
any  devotion." — Journal,  xv.  p.  24. 

"  From  the  first  and  apostolical  age,  singing  was  always  a  part 
of  divine  service,  in  which  the  whole  body  of  the  church  joined 
together  ;  which  is  a  thing  so  evident,  that  though  Cabassutius 
denies,  it,  and  in  his  spite  to  the  reformed  churches,  where  it  is 
generally  practiced,  calls  it  only  a  Protestant  whim ;  yet  Cardinal 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


427 


Bona  has  more  than  once  not  only  confessed,  but  solidly  proved 
it  to  have  been  the  primitive  practice.  The  decay  of  this  first 
brought  the  order  of  psalmistce,  or  singers,  into  the  church.  For 
when  it  was  found  by  experience  that  the  negligence  and  unskill- 
fulness  of  the  people  rendered  them  unfit  to  perform  this  service, 
without  some  more  curious  and  skillful  to  guide  and  assist  them, 
then  a  peculiar  order  of  men  were  appointed  and  set  over  this 
business,  with  a  design  to  retrieve  and  improve  the  ancient  psalm- 
ody, and  not  to  abolish  or  destroy  it." — Bingham,  b.  iii.  c.  7.,  §  2. 

Whitefield  was  censured  once  for  having  some  of  his  hymns 
set  to  profane  music,  and  he  is  said  to  have  replied,  "  Would  you 
have  the  devil  keep  all  the  good  tunes  to  himself?" 

NOTE  XVII.    (Page  103.) 

Service  of  the  Methodists. 

Mr.  Wesley  prided  himself  upon  the  decency  of  worship  in 
his  chapels.  He  says  :  "  The  longer  I  am  absent  from  London, 
and  the  more  I  attend  the  service  of  the  church  in  other  places, 
the  more  I  am  convinced  of  the  unspeakable  advantage  which  the 
people  called  Methodists  enjoy.  I  mean,  even  with  regard  to 
public  worship,  particularly  on  the  Lord's  Day.  The  church 
where  they  assemble  is  not  gay  or  splendid  ;  which  might  be  an 
hinderance  on  the  one  hand  :  nor  sordid  or  dirty,  which  might 
give  distate  on  the  other ;  but  plain  as  well  as  clean.  The  per- 
sons who  assemble  there  are  not  a  gay,  giddy  crowd,  who  came 
chiefly  to  see  and  be  seen ;  nor  a  company  of  goodly,  formal, 
outside  Christians,  whose  religion  lies  in  a  dull  round  of  duties  ; 
but  a  people,  most  of  whom  know,  and  the  rest  earnestly  seek  to 
worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Accordingly,  they  do  not 
spend  their  time  there  in  bowing  and  curtseying,  or  in  staring 
about  them :  but  in  looking  upward  and  looking  inward,  in 
hearkening  to  the  voice  of  God,  and  pouring  out  their  hearts  be- 
fore him. 

It  is  also  no  small  advantage  that  the  person  who  reads  pray- 
ers (though  not  always  the  same),  yet  is  always  one  who  may  be 
supposed  to  speak  from  his  heart ;  one  whose  life  is  no  reproach 
to  his  profession  ;  and  one  who  performs  that  solemn  part  of  di- 
vine service,  not  in  a  careless,  hurrying,  slovenly  manner,  but  se- 
riously and  slowly,  as  becomes  him  who  is  transacting  so  high  an 
affair  between  God  and  man. 

Nor  are  their  solemn  addresses  to  God  interrupted  either  by 
the  formal  drawl  of  a  parish  clerk,  the  screaming  of  boys,  who 
bawl  out  what  they  neither  feel  nor  understand,  or  the  unreas- 
onable and  unmeaning  impertinence  of  a  voluntary  on  the  organ. 
When  it  is  seasonable  to  sing  praise  to  God,  they  do  it  with  the 
spirit,  and  with  the  understanding  also  ;  not  in  the  miserable, 
scandalous,  doggrel  of  Hopkins  and  Sternhold,  but  in  psalms  and 
hymns  which  are  both  sense  and  poetry  ;  such  as  would  sooner 


428 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


provoke  a  critic  to  turn  Christian,  than  a  Christian  to  turn  critic. 
What  they  sing  is  therefore  a  proper  continuation  of  the  spiritual 
and  reasonable  service  ;  being  selected  for  that  end,  not  by  a  poor 
hum-drum  wretch,  who  can  scarce  read  what  he  drones  out  with 
such  an  air  of  importance,  but  by  one  who  knows  what  he  is 
about,  and  how  to  connect  the  preceding  with  the  following  part 
of  the  service ;  nor  does  he  take  just  '  two  staves,'  but  more  or 
less  as  may  best  raise  the  soul  to  God,  especially  when  sung  in 
well-composed  and  well-adapted  tunes  ;  not  by  a  handful  of  wild 
unawakened  striplings,  but  by  a  whole  serious  congregation  ;  and 
then  not  lolling  at  ease,  or  in  the  indecent  posture  of  sitting, 
drawling  out  one  word  after  another,  but  all  standing  before  God, 
and  praising  him  lustily,  and  with  a  good  courage." 

NOTE  XVIII.    (Page  112.) 

Strong  feelings  expressed  with  levity. 

Fuller  relates  a  remarkable  example  of  this  : — "  When  worthy 
master  Samuel  Hern,  famous  for  his  livings,  preaching,  and  writ- 
ing, lay  on  his  death-bed  (rich  only  in  goodness  and  children),  his 
wife  made  much  womanish  lamentation  what  should  hereafter 
become  of  her  little  ones.  'Peace,  sweetheart,'  said  he;  'that 
God  who  feedeth  the  ravens  will  not  starve  the  Herns.'  A 
speech,  censured  as  light  by  some,  observed  by  others  as  pro- 
phetical, as  indeed  it  came  to  pass  that  they  were  well  disposed 
of." — Fuller'' s  Good  Thoughts. 

NOTE  XIX.    (Page  119.) 

Methodism,  in  Scotland. 

The  Methodists  thus  explain  the  cause  of  their  failure  in  that 
country  : — "  There  certainly  is  a  very  wide  difference  between 
the  people  of  Scotland  and  the  inhabitants  of  England.  The 
former  have,  from  their  earliest  years,  been  accustomed  to  hear 
the  leading  truths  of  the  Gospel,  mixed  with  Calvinism,  constant- 
ly preached,  so  that  the  truths  are  become  quite  familiar  to  them  ; 
but,  in  general,  they  know  little  or  nothing  of  Christian  expe- 
rience ;  and  genuine  religion,  or  the  life  and  power  of  godliness, 
is  in  a  very  low  state  in  that  countiy.  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  it 
requires  a  far  higher  degree  of  the  Divine  influence,  generally 
speaking,  to  awaken  a  Scotchman  out  of  the  dead  sleep  of  sin, 
than  an  Englishman.  So  greatly  are  they  bigoted  to  their  own 
opinions,  their  mode  of  church  government,  and  way  of  worship, 
that  it  does  not  appear  probable  that  our  preachers  will  ever  be 
of  much  use  to  that  people  ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  except  those 
who  are  sent  to  Scotland  exceed  their  own  ministers  in  heart- 
searching,  experimental  preaching,  closely  applying  the  truth  to 
the  consciences  of  the  hearers,  they  may  as  well  never  go  thith- 
er."— Pawson. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS'. 


429 


NOTE  XX.    (Page  126.) 
Effects  of  the  Reformation  upon  Ireland. 

"  Ireland,  and  especiallie  the  ruder  part,  is  not  stored  with  such 
learned  men  as  Germanie  is.  If  they  had  sound  preachers,  and 
sincere  livers,  that  by  the  imbalming  of  their  carian  soules  with 
the  sweet  and  sacred  flowers  of  holie  writ,  would  instruct  them 
in  the  feare  of  God,  in  obeieng  their  princes,  in  observing  the 
lawes,  in  underpropping  in  ech  man  his  vocation  the  weale  pub- 
like ;  I  doubt  not  but,  within  two  or  three  ages,  M.  Critabolus 
his  heires  should  heare  so  good  a  report  run  of  the  reformation 
of  Ireland,  as  it  would  be  reckoned  as  civill  as  the  best  part  of 
Germanie.  Let  the  soile  be  as  fertile  and  betle  as  anie  would 
wish,  yet  if  the  husbandman  will  not  manure  it,  sometime  plow 
and  eare  it,  sometime  harrow  it,  sometime  till  it,  sometime  marie 
it,  sometime  delve  it,  sometime  dig  it,  and  sow  it  with  good  and 
sound  corne,  it  will  bring  foorth  weeds,  bind-corne,  cockle,  dar- 
nell,  brambles,  briers,  and  sundrie  wild  shoots.  So  it  fareth  with 
the  rude  inhabitants  of  Ireland ;  they  lacke  universities ;  they 
want  instructors  ;  they  are  destitute  of  teachers ;  they  are  with- 
out preachers ;  they  are  devoid  of  all  such  necessaries  as  apper- 
teine  to  the  training  up  of  youth ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  these 
wants,  if  anie  would  be  so  frowardlie  set  as  to  require  them  to 
use  such  civilitie,  as  other  regions,  that  are  sufficientlie  furnished 
with  the  like  helps,  he  might  be  accounted  as  unreasonable  as  he 
that  would  force  a  creeple  that  lacketh  both  his  legs  to  run,  or  one 
to  pipe  or  whistle  a  galiard  that  wanteth  his  upper  lip." — Stani- 
hurst,  in  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  vol.  vi.  p.  14. 

The  ecclesiastical  state  of  Ireland  in  1576  is  thus  described  by 
John  Vowell,  alias  Hooker,  the  Chronicler : — "  The  temples  all 
ruined,  the  parish  churches,  for  the  most  part,  without  curates 
and  pastors,  no  service  said,  no  God  honored,  nor  Christ  preach- 
ed, nor  sacraments  ministered ;  many  were  born  which  never 
were  christened ;  the  patrimony  of  the  church  wasted,  and  the 
lands  embezzled.  A  lamentable  case,  for  a  more  deformed  and 
a  more  overthrown  church  there  could  not  be  among  Christians." 
— Holinshed^s  Chronicles,  vol.  vi.  p.  382. 

*'  The  Kernes,  or  natural  wild  Irish  (and  many  of  the  better 
sort  of  the  nation  also),  either  adhere  unto  the  Pope,  or  their 
own  superstitious  fancies,  as  in  former  times.  And,  to  say  truth, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  they  should,  there  being  no  care  taken  to 
instruct  them  in  the  Protestant  rehgion,  either  by  translating  the 
Bible,  or  the  English  Liturgy,  into  their  own  language,  as  was 
done  in  Wales ;  but  forcing  them  to  come  to  church  to  the  En- 
glish service,  which  the  people  understand  no  more  than  they  do 
the  mass.  By  means  whereof,  the  Irish  are  not  only  kept  in 
continual  ignorance,  as  to  the  doctrine  and  devotions  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  others  of  the  Protestant  churches,  but  those  of 


430 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Rome  are  furnished  with  an  excellent  argument  for  having  the 
sei-vice  of  the  Church  in  a  language  which  the  common  hearers 
do  not  understand.  And,  therefore,  I  do  heartily  commend  it 
to  the  care  of  the  state  (when  these  distempers  are  composed)  to 
provide  that  they  may  have  the  Bible,  and  all  other  public  means 
of  Christian  instruction,  in  their  natural  tongue."  —  Heylyri's 
Cosmography^  p.  341. 

I  transcribe  from  the  "  Letters  of  Yorick"  (Dublin,  1817),  this 
''description  of  a  parish  in  the  county  of  Waterford  :" — "  Kilbariy 
is  a  lay  impropriation.  Mr.  Fox,  of  Bramham  Hall,  Yorkshire, 
the  patron  and  proprietor,  maintains  no  curate,  nor  any  other 
service  than  that  of  the  occasional  duties,  for  which  he  allows 
663  165.  3J.  per  annum.  The  lands  are  set  tithe-free.  There  is 
but  one  Protestant  family  in  the  parish,  Mr.  Carew's,  of  Ballina- 
mona.  The  church  is  in  ruins,  but  is  accommodated  with  a 
church-yard." 

NOTE  XXI.    (Page  133.) 

Wesley^s  Political  Conduct. 

In  a  Letter  written  in  1782,  Mr.  Wesley  says,  "  Two  or  three 
years  ago,  when  the  kingdom  was  in  imminent  danger,  I  made  an 
offer  to  the  government  of  raising  some  men.  The  Secretary  of 
War,  by  the  king's  order,  wrote  me  word  'that  it  was  not  neces- 
sary, but  if  it  ever  should  be  necessary,  his  majesty  would  let  me 
know.'  I  never  renewed  the  offer,  and  never  intended  it.  But 
Captain  Webb,  without  my  knowing  any  thing  of  the  matter, 
went  to  Colonel  B.,  the  new  Secretary  of  War,  and  renewed  that 
offer.  The  colonel  (I  verily  believe  to  avoid  his  importunity) 
asked  him  '  how  many  men  he  could  raise  ?'  But  the  colonel  is 
out  of  place  ;  so  the  thing  is  at  an  end." 

NOTE  XXII.    (Page  157.) 

Wesley's  Separation  from  his  Wife. 

The  separation  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wesley  is  represented 
by  all  his  biographers  as  final.  Yet,  in  his  Journal  for  the  ensuing 
year,  1772,  she  is  mentioned  as  ti*aveling  with  him  :  "  Tuesday, 
June  30.  Calling  at  a  little  inn  on  the  moors,  I  spoke  a  few 
words  to  an  old  man  there,  as  my  wife  did  to  the  woman  of  the 
house.  They  both  appeared  to  be  deeply  affected.  Perhaps 
Providence  sent  us  to  this  house  for  the  sake  of  those  two  poor 
souls." 

NOTE  XXIL  B.    (Page  162.) 

Wesley  did  not  tolerate  Lay  Administering. 

The  Rev.  James  Dixon,  D.D.,  who  was  President  of  the 
Wesley  an  Methodist  Conference  (in  England),  for  the  year 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATION*. 


431 


1841-2,  in  a  discourse  delivered  before  the  Conference,  thus  de- 
fines the  ecclesiastical  position  of  Methodism  : 

Our  own  ministerial  vocation,  so  far  as  the  external  call  is  con- 
sidered, is  soon  and  easily  stated.  The  facts  are  clear  and  suc- 
cinct. 

(1.)  The  venerable  founder  of  our  body  was  a  presbyter  of  the 
Church  of  England.  When  he  came  carefully,  and  without 
prejudice,  to  examine  the  question,  he  found  that  the  order  of 
bishops  and  presbyters,  as  exhibited  in  the  New  Testament, 
was  the  same ;  that,  moreover,  this  principle  was  recognized  in 
the  church  for  a  considerable  time;  and  that  the  superiority  of 
bishops  arose  out  of  the  mere  circumstance  of  their  being,  for  the 
sake  of  order,  elevated  to  preside  in  the  meetings  of  the  elders  ; 
and  when  the  churches  had  several  ministers,  from  convenience 
and  necessity,  one  of  the  number,  from  age  or  superior  endow- 
ments, was  appointed  to  take  the  superintendence, — that  is,  he 
was  the  first  among  equals.  When  Mr.  Wesley  was  virtually 
put  out  of  the  church, — that  is,  not  permitted  to  execute  what 
he  considered  his  mission  regularly  within  her  pale, — he  threw 
himself  on  this  first,  primary,  and  Scriptural  view  of  his  position. 
Hence  he  considered  himself  not  merely  a  minister  of  the  na- 
tional Church  of  England,  but  a  presbyter  of  the  universal  church  ; 
so  that  though  he  might  not  be  permitted  to  exercise  his  calling 
in  one  particular  sphere,  yet  the  "dispensation  of  the  gospel 
which  he  had  received"  held  good  in  any  sphere  and  in  any 
place ;  in  point  of  fact,  that  he  did  not  cease  to  be  a  true  presby- 
ter of  the  church  of  Christ,  when  he  was  dispensing  the  Gospel 
in  the  fields  and  private  buildings ;  and  believing  truly,  that  the 
episcopoi  and  elders  of  the  New  Testament  were  of  the  same  de- 
gree^ he  says,  on  one  occasion,  that  he  "  believed  he  was  as  really 
a  bishop  as  any  in  the  land^ 

(2.)  God  honored  this  remarkable  man  by  making  him  the  in- 
strument of  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  great  numbers.  From 
among  these  his  spiritual  children,  many  came  forward,  from 
time  to  time,  attesting  that  they  were  called  of  God  to  preach  his 
gospel.  This  our  founder  violently  opposed  at  first ;  but  the  ev- 
idence of  their  piety,  gifts,  and  the  remarkable  blessing  which 
evidently  rested  on  their  labors,  bore  down  his  opposition,  and 
he  yielded  to  the  demonstration,  that  this  too  was  the  work  of 
God. 

(3.)  These  holy  and  zealous  men,  after  due  examination,  were 
set  apart  for  the  work  to  which  they  were  called,  though  not  by 
imposition  of  hands.  This  setting  apart  in  the  congregation,  by 
prayer,  exhortation,  and  religious  exercises,  was  of  the  essence  of 
ordination,  though  destitute  of  the  formality  of  the  "  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  presbytery."  This  latter  ceremony  was  evi- 
dently avoided,  that  as  small  an  amount  of  offense  as  possible 
might  be  given  to  the  Church,  that  her  order  might  as  slightly 
as  possible  be  innovated,  and  that  a  link  of  connection  might  be 
retained;  for  it  must  be  conceded,  that  Mr.  Wesley  treated 


432 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


these  helpers  as  preachers  only,  not  possessing  the  full  ministe- 
rial call,  and  desired  his  societies  to  receive  the  sacraments  at  the 
hands  of  the  clergy. 

(4.)  These  preachers  proved  themselves  to  be  men  of  emi- 
nent qualifications  for  the  ministry.  They  performed  their  office 
with  great  power  and  wonderful  effect.  They  were  the  instru- 
ments of  awakening  multitudes  of  sinners,  of  extending  the  old 
societies  and  founding  new  ones,  and  ranked  among  the  most  able 
evangelists  ever  known  in  the  Church.  But  beside  preaching, 
they  also  performed  the  function  of  pastors.  They  watched 
over  their  flocks,  fed  them  by  wholesome  doctrine,  instruction, 
and  discipline.  They  admitted  into  the  societies,  governed,  and 
expelled.  In  fact,  they  performed  all  the  offices  of  true  minis- 
ters, save  the  administration  of  the  sacraments.  This  point  Mr. 
Wesley  reserved,  evidently  under  the  persuasion  that  without 
ordination  by  the  imposition  of  hands  the  preachers  were  not 
fully  qualified  ;  and  he  withheld  this,  that,  as  before  stated,  the 
members  might  be  induced  to  attend  at  the  parish  church.  We 
are  only  giving  a  narrative,  and  stating  facts :  or  we  might  ask, 
"  What  right  had  these  preachers  to  do  so  much  without  being 
permitted  to  do  the  rest  ?  to  form,  feed,  govern,  and  watch  over 
churches  of  Christ,  and  thus  in  every  possible  way  to  lead  them 
into  the  truth,  privileges,  and  blessings  of  the  Gospel?"  We 
ask,  "  What  right  had  they  to  go  thus  far,  if  they  had  not  the 
right  to  do  the  only  other  thing  necessary  to  the  ministerial  office, 
— to  administer  the  sacraments  ?" 

It  must  be  remarked  here,  that  Mr.  Wesley  believed  he  pos- 
sessed the  right  to  give  this  power  as  much  so  as  any  bishop  in 
England.  Hence,  when  from  prudential  motives  he  saw  it  suit- 
able to  exercise  it,  he  did  so  without  scruple.  When  America 
set  herself  free  from  her  connection  with  the  mother  country, 
he  ordained  men  for  the  ministry,  and  gave  form  to  a  church 
system.  Scotland,  also,  being,  as  he  thought,  differently  circum- 
stanced from  England,  he  adopted  a  similar  mode  of  proceeding 
for  that  branch  of  the  work ;  and,  in  the  latter  period  of  his  life, 
he  ordained  some  few  of  the  preachers  for  the  full  ministry  in 
this  country ;  so  that,  in  truth,  the  pastorate  among  us  has  never 
been  destitute  of  an  ordained  presbytery,  to  transmit  the  very 
orders  possessed  by  Mr.  Wesley  himself  If  it  be  contended, 
that  a  succession,  in  the  sense  of  a  transmission  of  orders,  is  ne- 
cessary to  constitute  a  valid  ministry,  we  reply,  that  we  have 
never  been  without  this  power,  because  we  have  always  had  in 
the  ministry  men  who  had  themselves  been  ordained  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  who  had  in  their  turn  ordained  others. 

Here,  then,  is  the  power  of  a  perfect  church,  and  ecclesiastical 
system,  so  far  as  the  ministry  is  concerned,  even  on  the  principles 
contended  for  by  most  of  the  parties  holding  the  essential  con- 
nection between  an  ordained  ministry  and  a  valid  church.  And 
on  the  ground  of  the  identity  of  bishops  and  elders  as  one  order, 
fully  believed  by  Mr.  Wesley,  and  by  all  candid  and  truth-seek- 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


433 


ing  writers  on  the  question,  it  follows  that  the  constitution  of 
the  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  only  a  legitimate 
development  of  the  principle  ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  that  an  imi- 
tation of  that  great  transaction  in  this  country  would  be  perfectly 
justifiable  on  the  ground  assumed  by  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  and 
held  sacred  by  his  followers. 

NOTE  XXIII.    (Page  196.) 
Trevecca. 

The  following  curious  account  of  a  society  instituted  partly  in 
imitation  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  College,  is  taken  from  the  preface 
to  a  tract  entitled  *'  The  PreSxistence  of  Souls,  and  Universal 
Restitution,  considered  as  Scripture  Doctrines.  Extracted 
from  the  Minutes  and  Correspondence  of  Burnham  Society." 
Taunton,  1798.  The  editor  was  a  singular  person,  whose  name 
was  Locke.  Mr.  Wesley  used  to  preach  in  the  Society's  room 
in  the  course  of  his  traveling ;  and  Mr.  Fletcher,  John  Hender- 
son, Sir  Richard  Hill,  and  the  Rev.  Sir  George  Stonhouse  were 
among  the  corresponding  members. 

"  The  small  college,  or  rather  large  school,  established  at  Tre- 
vecca, in  Wales,  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  pious  young 
men,  of  different  religious  sentiments,*  suggested  the  idea  of  con- 
stituting a  religious  society  at  Burnham,  in  the  county  of  Somerset, 
upon  a  similar  plan,  with  regard  to  the  difference  of  opinion.  It 
was  intended  to  insure  to  its  members  not  only  all  the  advantages 
enjoyed  by  common  benefit-clubs  from  their  weekly  contributions, 
but  to  raise  a  fund  sufficient  to  enable  those  who  attended  the 
monthly  meetings  to  enjoy  all  the  pleasures  of  one  of  Addison's 
Social  Convivial  Societies,  subject,  however,  to  a  heavy  fine  for 
drinking  to  excess,  because  the  entertainment  was  to  be  conduct- 
ed upon  the  principles  of  a  primitive  Love  Feast,  which  was  to 
enjoy  all  things  in  common. 

"As  the  first  or  chief  business  of  this  society  was  to  study  phi- 
losophy and  polemic  divinity,  and  debate  on  the  difference  of  re- 
ligious opinions,  in  brotherly  love ;  so  ancient  and  modern  con- 
troversy was  to  be  introduced,  and,  of  course,  candidates  of  any 
religious  denomination  admitted  as  members  of  this  philosophical 
society.  But  in  order  that  religious  controversy  should  not  oper- 
ate as  a  cheek  upon  the  general  good-humor  of  the  members,  all 
personal  reflections  or  invectives,  tart  or  sour  expressions,  harsh, 
severe  speeches,  with  every  other  impropriety  of  conduct,  either 
by  word,  look,  or  gesture,  contrary  to  patience,  meekness,  and 
humility,  were  punishable  by  fines  and  penalties;  and  for  non- 
compliance, the  delinquents  were  either  to  be  sent  to  Coventry 
or  excluded. 

*  Lady  Huntingdon,  the  founder,  leaned  to  the  Supralapsarians ;  the  Rev.  Walter 
Shirley,  the  president,  to  the  Sublapsarians  ;  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  the  superintend- 
ent master,  defended  the  Arininian  tenets  of  John  Wesley ;  and  John  Henderson, 
teacher  of  the  higher  classics,  was  a  Universalist,  after  Stonhouse. 

VOL.  II— T 


434 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  The  resolution  entered  into,  of  living  in  brotherly  love,  in  the 
same  manner  as  we  conceive  angels  would  live,  were  they  to 
sojourn  with  men,  and  the  liberal  and  rational  plan  upon  which 
this  society  was  founded^  gathered  to  it  upward  of  five  hundred 
members ;  upon  which  a  resolution  was  made,  that  no  speaker 
should  harangue  more  than  five  minutes  at  one  time,  supposing 
any  other  member  rose  to  speak.  Hence  arose  the  necessity  for 
disputants  to  conclude  their  debates  in  writing,  with  references 
to  authors  who  had  written  upon  the  subject,  in  order  for  the 
society  to  deliver  their  opinions  upon  the  question  under  consid- 
eration. 

"These  debates,  papers,  and  references  to  books,  disclosed  to 
the  members  (as  their  minds  became  more  and  more  enlightened) 
a  variety  of  indirect  roads  and  by-paths,  in  the  exploring  of  which 
they  lost  themselves ;  for,  however  firmly  they  were  united  in  acts 
of  brotherly  conformity  in  the  service  of  one  common  Lord,  they 
gradually  returned  to  their  old  customs — some  to  the  worship  of 
their  family  gods — a  few  to  the  service  of  their  own  gods — others 
paid  obedience  to  an  unknovm  god — but  most  neglected  the  ser- 
vice of  every  god. 

"  This  will  account  for  the  gradual  desertion  of  members,  and 
the  apparent  necessity  of  permitting  this  once  famous  society  to 
degenerate  into  a  mere  benefit-club,  which  is  now  kept  together 
by  a  freehold  estate  (of  twenty  pounds  per  annum  neat)  purchas- 
ed by  the  president  from  the  surplus  contributions  of  members." 

"You  formed  a  scheme,"  says  Toplady  to  Mr.  Wesley,  "of 
collecting  as  many  perfect  ones  as  you  could  to  live  under  one 
roof.  A  number  of  these  flowers  were  accordingly  transplanted 
from  some  of  your  nursery-beds  to  the  hot-house.  And  a  hot 
house  it  soon  proved.  For,  would  we  believe  it !  the  sinless  people 
quarreled  in  a  short  time  at  so  violent  a  rate,  that  you  found  your- 
self forced  to  disband  the  whole  regiment." — Toplady' s  Works, 
vol.  V.  p.  342. 

Does  this  allude  to  the  Burnham  Society  1 

NOTE  XXIV.    (Page  198.) 
Whitefield. 

The  device  upon  Whitefield's  seal  was  a  winged  heart  soaring 
above  the  globe,  and  the  motto  Astra  petamus.  The  seal  appears 
to  have  been  circular,  and  coarsely  cut.  A  broken  impression  is 
upon  an  original  letter  of  his  in  my  possession,  for  which  I  am 
obliged  to  Mr.  Laing,  the  bookseller,  of  Edinburgh. 

Mr.  "William  Mason  writes  from  Newburyport,  near  Boston, 
to  the  Gospel  Magazine,  and  contradicts  "  an  account  which  was 
prevalent  in  London  a  few  years  past",  and  asserted  with  direct 
possitivity  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine;"  namely,  "that  the  body 
of  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  George  Whitefield,  buried  in  this  port,  was 
entire  and  uncorrupted.    From  whence  such  a  falsehood  could 


.TUOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


435 


have  arisen,  it  is  impossible  to  decide.  About  five  years  past  (he 
writes  in  1801),  a  few  friends  were  permitted  to  open  the  tomb 
wherein  the  remains  of  that  precious  servant  of  Christ  were  in- 
terred. After  some  difficulty  in  opening  the  coffin,  we  found  the 
flesh  totally  consumed.  The  gown,  cassock,  and  band  with  which 
he  was  buried,  were  almost  the  same  as  if  just  put  into  the  coffin. 
I  mention  this  particular  as  a  caution  to  editors,  especially  of  a  re- 
ligious work,  to  avoid  the  marvelous,  particularly  when  there  is  no 
foundation  for  their  assertions." 

The  report,  though  it  was  as  readily  accredited  by  many  per- 
sons as  the  invention  of  a  saint's  body  would  be  in  a  Catholic 
country,  seems  not  to  have  originated  in  any  intention  to  deceive. 
Some  person  writing  from  America,  says,  "One  of  the  preachers 
told  me  the  body  of  Mr.  Whitefield  was  not  yet  putrefied.  But 
several  other  corpses  are  just  in  the  same  state  at  Newburyport, 
owing  to  vast  quantities  of  nitre  with  which  the  earth  there 
abounds." 

Whitefield  is  said  to  have  preached  eighteen  thousand  sermons 
during  the  thirty-four  years  of  his  ministry.  The  calculation  was 
made  from  a  memorandum-book  in  which  he  noted  down  the 
times  and  places  of  his  preaching.  This  would  be  something 
more  than  ten  sermons  a-week. 

Wesley  tells  us  himself  (Journal  xiii.  p.  121),  that  he  preached 
about  eight  hundred  sermons  in  a  year.  In  fifty-three  years,  reck- 
oning from  the  time  of  his  return  from  America,  this  would  amount 
to  forty-two  thousand  four  hundred.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  even  the  hundreds  in  this  sum  were  not  written  discourses. 

Collier  says,  that  Dr.  Litchfield,  rector  of  All  Saints,  Thames- 
street,  London,  who  died  in  1447,  left  three  thousand  and  eighty- 
three  sermons  in  his  own  hand.    Eccl.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.  p.  187. 

NOTE  XXV.    (Page  202.) 

Conference  with  the  Calvinists. 

"  I  was  at  Bristol,"  says  Mr.  Badcock,  "  when  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Shirley,  by  the  order  of  my  Lady  Huntingdon,  called  him  (Mr. 
Wesley)  to  a  public  account  for  certain  expressions  which  he  had 
uttered  in  some  charge  to  his  clergy,  which  savored  too  much  of 
the  popish  doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works.  Various  specu- 
lations were  formed  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  would 
evade  the  charge.  Few  conjectured  right ;  but  all  seemed  to 
agree  in  one  thing,  and  that  was,  that  he  would,  some  how  or 
other,  baflfte  his  antagonist ;  and  bafl3e  him  he  did  ;  as  Mr.  Shirley 
afterward  confessed,  in  a  very  lamentable  pamphlet,  which  he 
published  on  this  redoubted  controversy.  In  the  crisis  of  the  dis- 
pute, I  heard  a  celebrated  preacher,  who  was  one  of  Whitefield's 
successors,  express  his  suspicion  of  the  event :  for,  says  he,  "  I 
know  him  of  old  :  he  is  an  eel ;  take  him  where  you  will,  he  will 
slip  through  your  fingers." — Nicholses  Anecdotes,  vol.  v.  p.  224. 


436 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  XXVI.    (Page  204.) 

Berridge  of  Everton. 

This  person  (who  was  of  Clare  Hall)  called  himself  a  riding 
pedler,  because,  he  used  to  say,  his  master  employed  him  to  serve 
near  forty  shops  in  the  country,  beside  his  own  parish. 

If  the  poems  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  with  the  signature  of 
Old  Everton,  are  his,  as  I  suppose  them  to  be,  the  following  slan- 
derous satire  upon  Mr.  Wesley  must  be  ascribed  to  him ;  for  it 
comes  evidently  from  the  same  hand  : — 

The  Serpent  and  the  Fox ;  or,  an  Interview  between  old  Nick 
and  old  John. 

There's  a  fox  who  resideth  hard  by, 

The  most  perfect,  and  holy,  and  sly, 
That  e'er  turned  a  coat,  or  could  pilfer  and  lie. 

As  this  reverend  Reynard  one  day 

Sat  thinking  what  game  next  to  play, 
Old  Nick  came  a  seas'nable  visit  to  pay. 

O,  your  servant,  my  friend,  quoth  the  priest, 

Though  you  carry  the  mark  of  the  beast, 
I  never  shook  paws  with  a  welcomer  guest. 

Many  thanks,  holy  man,  cried  the  fiend, 

'Twas  because  you're  my  very  good  friend 
That  I  dropt  in,  with  you  a  few  moments  to  spend. 

JOHN. 

Your  kindness  requited  shall  be  ; 

There's  the  Calvinist-Methodists,  see, 
Who're  eternally  troublous  to  you  and  to  me. 

Now  I'll  stir  up  the  hounds  of  the  whore 

That's  called  scarlet,  to  worry  them  sore. 
And  then  roast  'em  in  Smilhfield,  like  Bonner  of  yore. 

NICK. 

O,  a  meal  of  the  Calvinist  brood 
Will  do  my  old  stomach  more  good, 
Than  a  sheep  to  a  wolf  that  is  starving  for  food. 

JOHN. 

When  America's  conquered,  you  know 
('Till  then  we  must  leave  them  to  crow), 
I'll  work  up  our  rulers  to  strike  a  home  blow. 

NICK. 

An  excellent  plan,  could  you  do  it ; 
But  if  all  the  infernals,  too,  knew  it, 
They'd  be  puzzled,  like  me,  to  tell  how  you'll  go  through  it. 

JOHN. 

When  they  speak  against  vice  in  the  Great, 

I'll  cry  out  that  they  aim  at  the  State, 
And  the  Ministry,  King,  and  the  Parliament  hate. 

Thus  I'll  still  act  the  part  of  a  liar. 

Persecution's  blest  spirit  inspire. 
And  then  "  Calmly  Address"  'em  with  fagot  and  fire. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


437 


NICK. 

Ay,  that's  the  right  way,  I  know  well : 
But  how  lies  with  perfection  can  dwell, 
Is  a  riddle,  dear  John,  that  would  puzzle  all  hell. 

JOHN. 

Pish  !  you  talk  like  a  doating  old  elf ; 

Can't  you  see  how  it  brings  in  the  pelf ; 
And  all  things  are  lawful  that  serve  a  man's  self. 

As  serpents,  we  ought  to  be  wise  : 

Is  not  self-preservation  a  prize  ? 
For  this  did  not  Abram  the  righteous  tell  lies  ? 

NICK. 

I  perceive  you  are  subtil,  though  small : 
You  have  reason,  and  Scripture,  and  all : 
So  stilted,  you  never  can  finally  fall. 

JOHN. 

From  the  drift  of  your  latter  reflection, 
I  fear  you  maintain  some  connection 
With  the  crocodile  crew  that  believe  in  Election. 

NICK. 

By  my  troth,  I  abhor  the  whole  troop  ; 
With  those  heroes  I  never  could  cope : 
I  should  chuckle  to  see  'em  all  swing  in  a  rope. 

JOHN. 

Ah,  could  we  but  see  the  land  free 

From  those  bawlers  about  the  Decree, 
Who're  such  torments  to  you,  to  my  brother,  and  me  ! 

As  for  Whitefield,  I  know  it  right  well. 

He  has  sent  down  his  thousands  to  hell ; 
And,  for  aught  that  I  know,  he's  gone  with  'em  to  dwell. 

NICK. 

I  grant,  my  friend  John,  for  'tis  true, 
That  he  was  not  so  perfect  as  you  ; 
Yet  (confound  him  !)  I  lost  him,  for  all  I  could  do. 

JOHN. 

Take  comfort !  he's  not  gone  to  glory ; 

Or,  at  most,  not  above  the  first  story : 
For  none  but  the  perfect  escape  purgatory. 

At  best,  he's  in  limboy  I'm  sure. 

And  must  still  a  long  purging  endure, 
Ere,  like  me,  he's  made  sinless,  quite  holy,  and  pure. 

NICK. 

Such  purging  my  Johnny  needs  none ; 

By  your  own  mighty  works  it  is  done, 
And  the  kingdom  of  glory  your  merit  has  won. 

Thus  wrapt  in  your  self-righteous  plod, 

And  self-raised  when  you  throw  off  this  clod. 
You  shall  mount,  and  demand  your  own  seat,  hke  a  god. 

You  shall  not  in  paradise  wait, 

But  climb  the  third  story  with  state  ; 
While  your  Whitefields  and  Hills  are  turn'd  back  from  the  gate. 

Old  John  never  dreamt  that  he  jeer'd  ; 

So  Nick  turn'd  himself  round,  and  he  sneer'd. 
And  then  shrugg'd  up  his  shoulders,  and  straight  disappear'd. 

The  priest,  with  a  simpering  face, 

Shook  his  hair-locks,  and  paus'd  for  a  space; 
Then  set  down  to  forge  lies  with  his  usual  grimace. 

AUSCULTATOR. 


438 


X0TE3   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  XXVII.    (Page  204.) 
Calvinism. 

"  Some  pestilent  and  abominable  heretics  tbere  be,"  says  the 
Catholic  Bishop  Watson,  "  that,  for  excusing  of  themselves,  do 
accuse  Almighty  God,  and  impute  their  mischievous  deeds  to 
God's  predestination;  and  would  persuade  that  God,  who  is  the 
fountain  of  all  goodness,  were  the  author  of  all  mischief ;  not  only 
suffering  men  to  do  evil  by  their  own  wills,  but  also  inforcing 
their  wills  to  the  same  evil,  and  working  the  same  evil  in  them. 
I  will  not  now  spend  this  little  time  (for  it  was  near  the  end 
of  his  sermon)  in  confuting  their  pestilent  and  devilish  sayings, 
for  it  is  better  to  abhor  them  than  to  confute  them/^ — Holsome  and 
Catholyke  Doctryne,  p.  124.  1558. 

Dr.  Beaumont  has  two  good  stanzas  upon  this  subject  in  his 
Psyche,  which  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  poems  in  this  or 
in  any  other  language. 

O  no  !  may  those  black  mouths  forever  be 

Damm'd  up  with  silence  and  with  shame,  which  dare 
Father  the  foulest,  deepest  tyranny 

On  Love's  great  God  ;  and  needs  will  make  it  clear 
From  his  own  Word  !  thus  rendering  him  at  once 
Both  Cruelty's  and  Contradiction's  Prince. 
A  prince  whose  mocking  law  forbids,  what  yet 

Is  his  eternally-resolved  will ; 
Who  woos  and  tantalizes  souls  to  get 

Up  into  heaven,  yet  destines  them  to  hell ; 
Who  calls  them  forth  whom  he  keeps  locked  in ; 
Who  damns  the  sinner,  yet  ordains  the  sin. 

Canto  10.,  St.  71,  72, 

In  the  Arminian  Magazine,  Wesley  has  published  the  Exami- 
nation of  Tilenus  before  the  Triers,  in  order  to  his  intended  set- 
tlement in  the  office  of  a  public  preacher  in  the  Commonwealth 
of  E Utopia,  written  by  one  who  was  present  at  the  Synod  of 
Dort.  The  names  of  the  Triers  are  very  much  in  .John  Bun- 
yan's  style.  They  are — Dr.  Absolute,  chairman ;  Mr.  Fatality, 
Mr.  Praeterition,  Mr.  Fry-babe,  Dr.  Damn-man,  Mr.  Narrow 
Grace,  Mr.  Efficax,  Mr.  Indefectible,  Dr.  Confidence,  Dr.  Du- 
bious, Mr.  Meanwell,  Mr.  Simulans,  Mr.  Take-o'- trust,  Mr. 
Know-little,  and  Mr.  Impertinent. 

If  the  Abbe  Duvernet  may  be  trusted  (a  writer  alike  liable  to 
suspicion  for  his  ignorance  and  his  immorality),  .lansenius  formally 
asserts,  in  his  Augustinus,  that  there  are  ceitain  commandments 
which  it  is  impossible  to  obey,  and  that  Christ  did  not  die  for  all. 
He  refers  to  the  Paris  edition,  vol.  iii.  pp.  138,  165. 

NOTE  XXVIII.    (Page  209.) 
Fletcher's  Illustrations  of  Calvinism. 
"  I  suppose  you  are  still  upon  your  travels.    You  come  to  the 
borders  of  a  great  empire,  and  the  first  thing  that  strikes  you  is 
a  man  in  an  easy  carriage  going  with  folded  arms  to  take  posses- 
sion of  an  immense  estate,  freely  given  him  by  the  king  of  the 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


439 


country.  As  he  flies  along,  you  just  make  out  the  motto  of  the 
royal  chariot  in  which  he  dozes, — 'Free  Reward.'  Soon  after, 
you  meet  five  of  the  king's  carts,  containing  twenty  wretches 
loaded  with  irons  ;  and  the  motto  of  every  cart  is,  '  Free  Punish- 
ment.' You  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  this  extraordinary  pro- 
cession, and  the  sheriff  attending  the  execution  answers,  Know, 
curious  stranger,  that  our  monarch  is  absolute ;  and  to  show  that 
sovereignty  is  the  prerogative  of  his  imperial  crown,  and  that  he 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,  he  distributes  every  day  free  rewards  and 
free  punishments,  to  a  certain  number  of  his  subjects.  '  What ! 
without  any  regard  to  merit  or  demerit,  by  mere  caprice  V  Not 
altogether  so  ;  for  he  pitches  upon  the  worst  of  men,  and  chief  of 
sinners,  and  upon  such  to  choose  for  the  subjects  of  his  rewards. 
(Elisha  Coles,  p.  62.)  And  that  his  punishments  may  do  as  much 
honor  to  free  sovereign  wrath,  as  his  bounty  does  to  free  sovereign 
grace,  he  pitches  upon  those  that  shall  be  executed  before  they 
are  born.  '  What !  have  these  poor  creatures  in  chains  done  no 
harm  ?'  '  O  yes,'  says  the  sheriff,  '  the  king  contrived  that  their 
parents  should  let  them  fall,  and  break  their  legs,  before  they 
had  any  knowledge ;  when  they  came  to  years  of  discretion,  he 
commanded  them  to  run  a  race  with  broken  legs,  and  because 
they  can  not  do  it,  I  am  going  to  see  them  quartered.  Some  of 
them,  beside  this,  have  been  obliged  to  fulfill  the  king's  secret 
luill,  and  bring  about  his  purposes  ;  and  they  shall  be  burned  in 
yonder  deep  valley,  called  Tophet,  for  their  trouble.'  You  are 
shocked  at  the  8herifi"'s  account,  and  begin  to  expostulate  with 
him  about  the  freeness  of  the  wrath  which  burns  a  man  for  doing 
the  king's  will ;  but  all  the  answer  you  can  get  from  him  is,  that 
which  you  give  me  in  your  fourth  letter,  page  23 ;  where, 
speaking  of  a  poor  reprobate,  you  say,  '  such  a  one  is  indeed 
accomplishing  the  king's,' you  say 'God's,  decree;' but  he  carries 
a  dreadful  mark  in  his  forehead,  that  such  a  decree  is,  that  he  shall 
be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
lord  of  the  country.  You  cry  out, '  God  deliver  me  from  the  hands 
of  a  monarch  who  punishes  unth  everlasting  destruction  such  as 
accomplish  his  decree  !'  and  while  the  magistrate  intimates  that 
your  exclamation  is  a  dreadful  mark,  if  not  in  your  forehead,  at 
least  upon  your  tongue,  that  you  yourself  shall  be  apprehended 
against  the  next  execution,  and  made  a  public  instance  of  the 
king's  free  wrath,  your  blood  runs  cold ;  you  bid  the  postillion  turn 
the  horses;  they  gallop  for  your  life;  and  the  moment  you  get 
out  of  the  dreary  land,  you  bless  God  for  your  narrow  escape." 
— Fletcher's  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  26. 

"  You  '  decry  illustrations,'  and  I  do  not  wonder  at  it ;  for  they 
carry  light  into  Babel,  where  it  is  not  desired.  The  father  of 
errors  begets  Darkness  and  Confusion.  From  Darkness  and  Con- 
fusion springs  Calvinism,  who,  wrapping  himself  up  in  some  gar- 
ments which  he  has  stolen  from  the  Truth,  deceives  the  nations, 
and  gets  himself  reverenced  in  a  dark  temple,  as  if  he  were  the 
pure  and  free  Gospel. 


440 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


*'  To  bring  him  to  a  shameful  end,  we  need  not  stab  him  with 
the  dagger  of  '  calumny,''  or  put  him  upon  the  rack  of  persecution. 
Let  him  only  be  dragged  out  of  his  obscurity,  and  brought  un- 
masked to  open  light,  and  the  silent  beams  of  truth  will  pierce 
him  through!  Light  alone  will  torture  him  to  death,  as  the 
meridian  sun  does  a  bird  of  night,  that  can  not  fly  from  the  gentle 
operation  of  its  beams. 

"  May  the  foUowing  illustration  dart  at  least  one  luminous  beam 
into  the  profound  darkness  in  which  your  venerable  Diana  delights 
to  dwell  !  And  may  it  show  the  Christian  world  that  we  do  not 
*  slander  you*  when  we  assert,  you  inadvertently  destroy  God's 
law,  and  cast  the  Redeemer's  crown  to  the  ground ;  and  that 
when  you  say,  '  in  point  of  justification'  (and  consequently  of 
condemnation),  'we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  law;  we  are 
under  the  law  as  a  rule  of  life,'  but  not  as  a  rule  of  judgment; 
you  might  as  well  say,  '  we  are  under  no  law,  and  consequently 
no  longer  accountable  for  our  actions.' 

"  '  The  king,'  v^hom  I  will  suppose  is  in  love  with  your  doctinnes 
of  free  grace  and  free  wrath,  by  the  advice  of  a  predestinarian 
council  and  parliament,  issues  out  a  (rospcZ-proclamation,  directed 
'  to  all  his  dear  subjects,  and  elect  people,  the  English.''  By  this 
evangelical  manifesto  they  are  informed,  '  that  in  consequence  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  meritorious  intercession,  and  perfect  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  England,  all  the  penalties  annexed  to  the 
breaking  of  those  laws  are  now  abolished  with  respect  to  English- 
men :  that  His  Majesty  freely  pardons  all  his  subjects  who  have 
been,  are,  or  shall  be  guilty  of  adultery,  murder,  or  treason  :  that 
all  their  crimes,  '  past,  present,  and  to  come,  are  forever  and  for- 
ever canceled  :'  that,  nevertheless,  his  loving  subjects  who  remain 
strangers  to  their  privileges  shall  still  be  served  with  sham-war- 
rants according  to  law,  and  frightened  out  of  their  wits,  till  they 
have  learned  to  plead,  they  are  Englishmen  (i.  e.,  elect)  :  and  then 
they  shall  also  set  at  defiance  all  legalists ;  that  is,  all  those  who 
shall  dare  to  deal  with  them  according  to  law:  and  that,  excepting 
the  case  of  the  above-mentioned  false  prosecution  of  his  chosen 
people,  none  of  them  shall  ever  be  molested  for  the  breach  of 
any  law. 

"By  the  same  supreme  authority  it  is  likewise  enacted,  that  all 
the  laws  shall  continue  in  force  against  foreigners  {i.e.,  reprobates), 
whom  the  King  and  the  Prince  hate  with  everlasting  hatred, 
and  to  whom  they  have  agreed  never  to  show  mercy ;  that  accord- 
ingly they  shall  be  prosecuted  to  the  utmost  rigor  of  every  stat- 
ute, till  they  are  all  hanged  or  burned  out  of  the  way :  and  that, 
supposing  no  pei-sonal  offense  can  be  proved  against  them,  it  shall 
be  lawful  to  hang  them  in  chains  for  the  crime  of  one  of  their 
forefathers,  to  set  forth  the  king's  wonderful  justice,  display  his 
glorious  sovereignty,  and  make  his  chosen  people  relish  the  bet- 
ter their  sweet,  distinguishing  privileges  as  Englishmen. 

"  Moreover  his  majesty,  who  loves  order  and  harmony,  charges 
his  loving  subjects  to  consider  still  the  statutes  of  England,  which 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


441 


are  in  force  against  foreigners,  as  very  good  rules  of  life  for  the 
English,  which  they  shall  do  well  to  follow,  but  better  to  break  ; 
because  every  breach  of  those  rules  will  work  for  their  good,  and 
make  them  sing  louder  the  faithfulness  of  the  King,  the  goodness 
of  the  Prince,  and  the  sweetness  of  this  Gospel-proclamation. 

"Again,  as  nothing  is  so  displeasing  to  the  king  as  legality, 
which  he  hates  even  more  than  extortion  and  whoredom ;  lest 
any  of  his  dear  people,  who  have  acted  the  part  of  a  strumpet, 
robber,  murderer,  or  traitor,  should,  through  the  remains  of  their 
inbred  corruption  and  ridiculous  tegality,  mourn  too  deeply  for 
breaking  some  of  their  rules  of  life,  our  gracious  monarch  solemn- 
ly assures  them,  that  though  he  highly  disapproves  of  adultery 
and  murder,  yet  these  branches  of  rules  are  not  worse  in  his 
sight  than  a  wandering  thought  in  speaking  to  him,  or  a  moment's 
dulness  in  his  service  :  that  robbers,  therefore,  and  traitors,  adul- 
terers, and  murderers,  who  are  freeborn  Englishmen,  need  not 
at  all  be  uneasy  about  losing  his  royal  favor ;  this  being  utterly 
impossible,  because  they  always  stand  complete  in  the  honesty, 
loyalty,  chastity  and  charity  of  the  Prince, 

"  Moreover,  because  the  King  changes  not,  whatever  lengths 
the  English  go  on  in  immorality,  he  will  always  look  upon  them 
as  his  pleasant  children,  his  dear  people,  and  men  after  his  own 
heart ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  whatsoever  lengths  foreign- 
ers go  in  pious  morality,  His  gracious  Majesty  is  determined  still 
to  consider  them  as  hypocrites,  vessels  of  wrath,  and  cursed  chil- 
dren, for  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever  :  be- 
cause he  always  views  them  completely  guilty,  and  absolutely 
condemned  in  a  certain  robe  of  unrighteousness,  woven  thousands 
of  years  ago  by  one  of  their  ancestors.  This  dreadful  sanbenito 
His  Majesty  hath  thought  fit  to  put  upon  them  by  imputation, 
and  in  it,  it  is  his  good  pleasure  that  they  shall  hang  in  adaman- 
tine chains,  or  burn  in  fire  unquenchable. 

"  Finally,  as  foreigners  are  dangerous  people,  and  may  stir  up 
his  majesty's  subjects  to  rebellion,  the  English  are  informed, 
that  if  any  one  of  them,  were  he  to  come  over  from  Geneva  it- 
self, shall  dare  to  insinuate  that  his  most  gracious  Gospel-proc- 
lamation is  not  according  to  equity,  morality,  and  godliness,  the 
first  Englishman  that  meets  him  shall  have  full  leave  to  brand 
him  as  a  papist,  without  judge  or  jury,  in  the  forehead  or  on  the 
back,  as  he  thinks  best ;  and  that,  till  he  is  further  proceeded 
with  according  to  the  utmost  severity  of  the  law,  the  chosen  peo- 
ple shall  be  informed  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  to  beware  of  him, 
as  a  man  '  who  scatters  firebrands,  arrows,  and  deaths,'  and 
makes  universal  havoc  of  every  article  of  this  sweet  Gospel-proc- 
lamation. Given  at  Geneva,  and  signed  by  four  of  His  Majesty's 
Principal  Secretaries  of  State  for  the  Predestinarian  Depart- 
ment." 

John  Calvin,  Dr.  Crisp, 

The  Author  of  P.  O.     Rowland  Hill. 
.  Fletcher's  works,  vol.  iii.  p.  282. 


442 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATION^. 


NOTE  XXIX.    (Page  210.) 

Arminianism  described  hy  the  Calvinists. 

"  Scarcely  had  our  first  parents  made  their  appearance,  when 
Satan,  the  first  Arminian,  began  to  preach  the  pernicious  doctrine 
of  free-will  to  them,  which  so  pleased  the  old  gentleman  and  his 
lady,  that  they  (like  thousands  of  their  foolish  offspring  in  this 
Gur  day)  adhered  to  the  deceitful  news,  embraced  it  cordially, 
disobeyed  the  command  of  their  Maker,  and,  by  so  doing  launch- 
ed their  whole  posterity  into  a  cloud  of  miseries  and  ills.  But 
some  perhaps  will  be  ready  to  say  that  Arminianism,  though  an 
error,  cannot  be  the  root  of  all  other  errors ;  to  which  I  answer, 
that  if  it  first  originated  in  Satan,  then,  I  ask,  from  whence 
sprang  any  error  or  evil  in  the  world  ?  Surely  Satan  must  be 
the  first  moving  cause  of  all  evils  that  ever  did,  do  now,  or  ever 
will  make  their  appearance  in  this  world ;  consequently,  he  was 
the  first  propagator  of  that  cursed  doctrine  above  mentioned. 
Hence  Arminianism  begat  Popery,  and  Popery  begat  Methodism, 
and  Methodism  begat  Moderate  Calvinism,  and  Moderate  Calvin- 
ism begat  Baxterianism,  and  Baxterianism  begat  Unitarianism, 
and  Unitarianism  begat  Arianism,  and  Arianism  begat  Universal- 
isra,  and  Universalism  begat  Deism,  and  Deism  begat  Atheism  ; 
and  living  and  dying  in  the  embracement  of  every  of  the  above  evils 
or  isms,  where  Christ  is,  they  never  can  come.  Thus  I  consider 
that  Arminianism  is  the  original  of  all  the  pernicious  doctrines  that 
are  propagated  in  the  world,  and  Destructionism  will  close  the 
whole  of  them." — Gospel  Magazine,  1807,  p.  16. 

"Of  the  two  (says  Huntington  the  S.S.),  I  would  rather  be  a 
Deist  than  an  Arminian ;  for  an  established  Deist  sears  his  own 
conscience,  so  that  he  goes  to  hell  in  the  easy-chair  of  insensi- 
bility ;  but  the  Arminian,  who  wages  war  with  open  eyes  against 
the  sovereignty  of  God,  fights  most  of  his  battles  in  the  very  fears 
and  horrors  of  hell." — Huntington'' s  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  363. 

"The  sons  of  bondage,"  says  a  red-hot  Antinomian,  who  signs 
himself  Rufus,  "  like  Satan  and  his  compeers,  are  unsatisfied  with 
slavery  themselves,  unless  they  can  entice  others  into  the  same 
dilemma.  They  are  forever  forging  their  accursed  fetters  for 
the  sons  of  God  in  the  hot  flames  of  Sinai's  fiery  vengeance  ;  and 
in  the  hypocritical  age  of  the  nineteenth  century,  pour  forth 
whole  troops  of  work-mongers,  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
Moderate  Calvinists,  who,  under  an  incredible  profession  of  sanc- 
tity, lie  in  wait  to  deceive ;  and,  by  their  much  fair  speeches, 
entrap  the  unwary  pilgrims  into  the  domains  of  Doubting  Castle, 
binding  them  within  those  solitary  ruins  to  the  legal  drudgery  of 
embracing  the  moral  or  preceptive  law,  as  the  rule  of  their 
lives." 

Upon  the  subject  of  election,  there  is  a  tremendous  rant  by  a 
writer  who  calls  himself  Ebenezer. 

*'  Before  sin  can  destroy  any  one  of  God's  elect,  it  must  change 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


443 


the  word  of  truth  into  a  lie ;  strip  Jesus  Christ  of  all  his  merit; 
render  his  blood  inefficacious;  pollute  his  righteousness ;  contami- 
nate his  nature  ;  conquer  his  omnipotence ;  cast  him  from  his 
throne  ;  and  sink  him  in  the  abyss  of  perdition  ;  it  must  turn  the 
love  of  God  into  hatred ;  nullify  the  council  of  the  Most  High ; 
destroy  the  everlasting  covenant ;  and  make  void  the  oath  of  Jeho- 
vah: nay,  it  must  raise  discord  among  the  Divine  attributes; 
make  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  unfaithful  to  each  other,  and  set 
them  at  variance ;  change  the  Divine  nature ;  vv^rest  the  scepter 
from  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  ;  dethrone  him  ;  and  put  a  period 
to  his  existence.  Till  it  has  done  all  this,  we  boldly  say  unto  the 
redeemed,  Fear  not,  for  we  shall  not  be  ashamed  ;  neither  be 
dismayed,  for  you  shall  not  be  confounded." — Gospel  Magazine^ 
1804,  p.  287. 

NOTE  XXX.    (Page  222.) 

Young  Grimshaw. 

*'  He,  too,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  is  now  gone  into  eternity  ! 
So,  in  a  few  years,  the  family  is  extinct.  I  preached  in  a  mead- 
ow, near  the  house,  to  a  numerous  congregation ;  and  we  sung 
with  one  heart— 

'  Let  sickness  blast  and  death  devour, 

If  heaven  will  recompense  our  pains  ; 
Perish  the  grass,  and  fade  the  flower, 
Since  firm  the  word  of  God  remains.' " 

NOTE  XXXI.    (Page  299.) 

The  Covenant. 

If  proof  were  wanting  to  confirm  the  opinion  which  I  have 
advanced  of  the  perilous  tendency  of  this  fanatical  practice,  Will- 
iam Huntington,  S.S.,  a  personage  sufficiently  notorious  in  his 
day,  would  be  an  unexceptionable  evidence.  He  thus  relates 
his  own  case,  in  his  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven  taken  by  Prayer." 

"  Having  got  a  little  book  that  a  person  had  lent  me,  which 
recommended  vows  to  be  made  to  God,  I  accordingly  stripped 
myself  naked,  to  make  avow  to  the  Almighty,  if  he  would  enable 
me  to  cast  myself  upon  him.  Thus  I  bound  my  soul  with  nu- 
merous ties,  and  wept  over  eveiy  part  of  the  written  covenant 
which  this  book  contained.  These  I  read  naked  on  my  knees, 
and  vowed  to  perform  all  the  conditions  that  were  therein  pro- 
posed. Having  made  this  covenant,  I  went  to  bed,  wept,  and 
prayed  the  greatest  part  of  that  night,  and  arose  in  the  morning 
pregnant  with  all  the  wretched  resolutions  of  fallen  nature.  I 
now  manfully  engaged  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  in  my 
own  strength  ;  and  I  had  bound  myself  up  with  so  many  promised 
conditions,  that,  if  I  failed  in  one  point,  I  was  gone  forever,  ac- 
cording to  the  tenor  of  my  own  covenant,  provided  that  God 
should  deal  with  me  according  to  my  sins,  and  reward  me  ac- 
cording to  mine  iniquity. 


444 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


♦*  But,  before  the  week  was  out,  I  broke  through  all  these  en- 
gagements, and  fell  deeper  into  the  bowels  of  despair  than  ever  I 
had  been  before.  And  now,  seemingly,  all  was  gone  :  I  gave  up 
prayer,  and  secretly  wished  to  be  in  hell,  that  I  might  know  the 
worst  of  it,  and  be  delivered  from  the  fear  of  worse  to  come.  I  was 
now  again  tempted  to  believe  that  there  is  no  God,  and  wished  to 
close  in  with  the  temptation,  and  be  an  established  or  confirmed 
atheist ;  for  I  knew,  if  there  was  a  God,  that  I  must  be  damned ; 
therefore  I  labored  to  credit  the  temptation,  and  fix  it  firm  in  my 
heart.  But,  alas!  said  I,  how  can  I?  If  I  credit  this,  I  must 
disbelieve  my  own  existence,  and  dispute  myself  out  of  common 
sense  and  feeling,  for  I  am  in  hell  already.  There  is  no  feeling 
in  hell  but  what  I  have  an  earnest  of.  Hell  is  a  place  where 
mercy  never  comes  :  I  have  a  sense  of  none.  It  is  a  separation 
from  God :  I  am  without  God  in  the  world.  It  is  a  hopeless 
state  :  I  have  no  hope.  It  is  to  feel  the  burden  of  sin  :  I  am 
burdened  as  much  as  mortal  can  be.  It  is  to  feel  the  lashes  of 
conscience  :  I  feel  them  all  the  day  long.  It  is  to  be  a  companion 
for  devils  ;  I  am  harassed  with  them  from  morning  till  night.  It 
is  to  meditate  distractedly  on  an  endless  eternity  :  I  am  already 
engaged  in  this.  It  is  to  sin  and  rebel  against  God  :  I  do  it  per- 
petually. It  is  to  reflect  upon  past  madness  and  folly;  this  is  the 
daily  employ  of  my  mind.  It  is  to  labor  under  God's  unmixed 
wrath  :  this  I  feel  continually.  It  is  to  lie  under  the  tormenting 
scepter  of  everlasting  death :  this  is  already  begun.  Alas  !  to 
believe  there  is  no  God,  is  like  persuading  myself  that  I  am  in  a 
state  of  annihilation." — Huntington's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  193. 

NOTE  XXXII.    (Page  303.) 

The  value  of  a  good  conscience. 

Upon  this  subject  the  Methodist  Magazine  aflfords  a  good  il- 
lustration. A  poor  Cornishman,  John  Nile  by  name,  had  been 
what  is  called  under  conviction  twelve  months, — in  a  deplorable 
state,  walking  disconsolate,  while  his  brethren  were  enjoying 
their  justification.  One  night  going  into  his  fields  he  detected  one 
of  his  neighbors  in  the  act  of  stealing  his  turnips,  and  brought  the 
culprit  quietly  into  the  house  with  the  sack  which  he  had  nearly 
filled.  He  made  him  empty  the  sack,  to  see  if  any  of  his  seed 
turnips  were  there,  and  finding  two  or  three  large  ones,  which  he 
had  intended  to  reserve  for  that  purpose,  he  laid  them  aside, 
bade  the  man  put  the  rest  into  the  sack  again,  helped  him  to  lay 
it  on  his  back,  and  told  him  to  take  them  home,  and  if  at  any 
time  he  was  in  distress  to  come  and  ask  and  he  should  have  • 
but  he  exhorted  him  to  steal  no  more.  Then  shaking  him  by  the 
hand  he  said,  I  forgive  you,  and  may  God  for  Christ's  sake  do 
the  same.  AVhat  eflfect  this  had  upon  the  thief  is  not  stated ; 
but  John  Nile  was  that  night  "  filled  with  a  clear  evidence  of  par- 
doning love,"  with  an  assurance  that  having  forgiven  his  brother 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


445 


Lis  trespasses,  his  heavenly  Father  also  had  forgiven  him." — Did 
the  feeling  proceed  from  his  faith,  or  his  good  works  ? 

"  The  Scriptures,"  says  Priestley,  "  uniformly  instruct  us  to 
judge  of  ourselves  and  others,  not  by  uncertain  and  undescribable 
feelings,  but  by  evident  actions.  As  our  Savior  says,  *  by  their 
fruits  shall  ye  know  men.^^  For  where  a  man's  conduct  is  not 
only  occasionally,  but  uniformly  right,  the  principle  upon  which 
he  acts  must  be  good.  Indeed,  the  only  reason  why  we  value 
good  principles  is  on  account  of  their  uniform  operation  in  produ- 
cing good  conduct.  This  is  the  end,  and  the  principle  is  only  the 
means."  —  Preface  to  Original  Letters  by  Wesley  and  his 
Friends. 

NOTE  XXXTII.    (Page  308.) 
Wesley^s  Doctrine  concerning  Riches, 

Upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Wesley  has  preserved  a  fine  anecdote. 
"Beware,"  he  says,  "of  forming  a  hasty  judgment  concerning 
the  fortune  of  others.  There  may  be  secrets  in  the  situation  of 
a  person,  which  few  but  God  are  acquainted  with.  Some  years 
since,  I  told  a  gentleman.  Sir,  I  am  afraid  you  are  covetous.  He 
asked  me.  What  is  the  reason  of  your  fears  ?  I  answered,  A  year 
ago,  when  I  made  a  collection  for  the  expense  of  repairing  the  Foun- 
dry, you  subscribed  five  guineas.  At  the  subscription  made  this 
year  you  subscribed  only  half-a-guinea.  He  made  no  reply ;  but 
after  a  time  asked.  Pray  sir,  answer  me  a  question  :  why  do 
you  live  upon  potatoes  ?  (I  did  so  between  three  and  four  years.) 
I  replied,  It  has  much  conduced  to  my  health.  He  answered, 
I  believe  it  has.  But  did  you  not  do  it  likewise  to  save  money? 
I  said,  I  did,  for  what  I  save  from  my  own  meat,  will  feed  another 
that  else  would  have  none.  But,  sir,  said  he,  if  this  be  your  mo- 
tive, you  may  save  much  more.  I  know  a  man  that  goes  to  the  mar- 
ket at  the  beginning  of  every  week.  There  he  buys  a  penny- 
worth of  parsnips,  which  he  boils  in  a  large  quantity  of  water. 
The  parsnips  serve  him  for  food,  and  the  water  for  drink  the 
ensuing  week,  so  his  meat  and  drink  together  cost  him  only  one 
penny  a-week.  This  he  constantly  did,  though  he  had  then  two 
hundred  pounds  a-year,  to  pay  the  debts  which  he  had  contracted 
before  he  knew  God !  And  this  was  he  whom  I  had  set  down 
for  a  covetous  man." 

To  this  affecting  anecdote  T  add  an  extract  from  Wesley's 
Journal,  relating  to  the  subject  of  property. 

"  In  the  evening  one  sat  behind  me  in  the  pulpit  at  Bristol, 
who  was  one  of  our  first  masters  at  Kingswood.  A  little  after  he 
left  the  school,  he  likewise  left  the  Society.  Riches  then  flowed  in 
upon  him ;  with  which,  having  no  relations,  Mr.  Spencer  de- 
signed to  do  much  good — after  his  death.  But  God  said  unto  him. 
Thou  fool!  Two  hours  after  he  died  intestate,  and  left  all  his 
money  to  be  scrambled  for. 


446 


JTOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  Reader  !  if  you  have  not  done  it  already,  make  your  will  he- 
fore  you  sleep.^^    Journal  xix.  8. 

I  know  a  person  who,  upon  reading  this  passage,  took  the 
advice. 

NOTE  XXXIII.  B.    (Page  311.) 

Wesley  perceived  and  ackowledged  how  littlereal  reformation  had 
been  effected. 

If  this  passage  were  to  be  taken  as  Mr.  Southey  has  insidiously 
put  it,  it  would  not  have  been  out  of  his  province,  as  the  biogra- 
pher of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  the  historian  of  Methodism,  to  have 
compared  this  representation  with  those  numerous  passages  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  vnitings  in  which  a  veiy  different  representation 
is  made  of  the  success  of  his  labors,  in  order  to  ascertain  a  fact 
which  was  surely  important  to  the  inquiry  he  had  voluntarily  un- 
dertaken, and  to  determine  the  precise  quantum  of  good  produ- 
ced by  Methodism.  But  not  only  was  it  Mr.  Southey's  duty  to 
settle  the  average  of  these  very  opposite  statements  ;  but  to  rec- 
oncile the  passage  in  which  he  affects  to  have  found  Methodism 
condemned  by  Mr.  Wesley  with  those  numerous  and  liberal 
admissions  as  to  the  real  and  extensive  good  produced  by  it,  which 
he  himself  has  made  in  various  parts  of  his  most  inconsistent 
volumes.  Nay,  I  must  think  that  if  Mr.  Southey  had  not  been  con- 
scious that  he  was  taking  an  unwarrantable  liberty  with  the  quota- 
tions in  question,  he  would  have  felt  himself  bound  to  examine 
these  apparent  contradictions  at  some  length,  instead  of  hastily 
leaving  them,  supported  by  a  few  confirmatory  dogmatical  asser- 
tions of  his  own,  to  produce  the  impression  which  he  designed. 
But  the  dishonesty  of  our  author  must  here  be  exposed.  The 
passage  which  he  has  given  as  one  continuous  extract  from  Mr. 
Wesley  is  made  up  of  two,  and  those  clauses  are  left  out  which 
would  have  explained  its  real  meaning.  Nor  is  it  true,  as  Mr. 
Southey  states,  that  it  was  written  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  show  '*  how 
little  real  reformation  had  been  effected  in  the  gi'eat  body  of  his 
followers."  Instead  of  this,  the  first  part  of  the  quotation  says 
nothing  of  the  degree  of  "  real  reformation"  wrought  among  his 
followers,  but  speaks  of  what  had  been  done  in  the  nation,  in  com- 
parison of  what  he,  not  unreasonably,  expected  from  the  com- 
mencement of  so  extraordinary  a  work  of  God.  To  prevent  the 
passage  from  being  so  understood,  Mr.  Southey  dexterously 
slipped  out  a  sentence  between  two  parts  of  the  quotation.  Mr. 
Wesley,  after  asking,  "  might  I  not  have  expected  a  general  in- 
crease of  faith,  and  love,  of  righteousness,"  &c.,  adds,  "  was  it 
not  reasonable  to  expect  that  these  fruits  would  have  overspread 
his  whole  church  ?"  This  is  left  out.  Now,  the  term  church 
he  never  applied  to  his  Societies,  but  to  the  Church  of  England ; 
and  here  he  cleai'ly  means  by  it  all  throughout  the  land,  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  of  her  communion.    "Instead  of  this,"  Mr.  Wesley 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


447 


observes,  "the  vineyard  brought  forth  wild  grapes,  it  brought 
forth  error  in  a  thousand  shapes,"  and  many  persons  instead  of 
following  the  doctrines  taught  by  him,  followed  these  errors  ;  but 
they  were  not  surely  as  Mr.  Southey  would  represent  Mr. 
Wesley's  "  followers,  when  they  followed  opinions  and  teachers 
which  had  no  sanction  from  him.  Nor  does  he  only  refer  to 
errors  which  arose  from  the  perversions  of  the  doctrines  of  Meth- 
odism, but  to  errors  which  arose  from  a  heated  and  virulent  op- 
position made  to  them,  both  in  the  church  and  out  of  it.  By  the 
zealous  propagation  of  truth,  the  advocates  of  error  were  made 
more  active,  and  in  many  cases  more  successful,  the  constant  re- 
sult in  every  age.  "  It  brought  forth  enthusiasm,"  &c.  But  not 
in  the  great  bodyof  Mr.  Wesley's  "followers,"  as  our  author  would 
have  it  understood.  This  could  not  be  his  meaning ;  for  on  the 
contrary  he  affirms,  that  generally,  "the  work  in  his  Societies 
was  rational  as  well  as  scriptural,  as  pure  from  enthusiasm  as 
from  superstition.  It  is  true,  the  opposite  has  been  continually 
affirmed;  but  to  affirm  is  one  thing,  to  prove  is  another."  Mr. 
Wesley  referred  to  the  case  of  George  Bell,  and  a  few  others  in 
London,  who  were  opposed  and  put  away  almost  as  soon  as  their 
en-ors  appeared,  and  whose  real  enthusiasm  was  injurious,  not 
only  to  the  few  infected  by  it,  but  operated  largely  for  a  time  to 
counteract  the  influence  of  true  religion  in  the  land,  by  confirming 
the  prejudices  which  all  worldly  men  indulge  against  it,  and  who 
never  fail  to  fix  upon  such  circumstances  to  bring  it  into  disrepute. 
"  It  brought  forth  prejudice,  evil  surmising,  censoriousness,  judg- 
ing and  condemning  one  another,  all  totally  subversive  of  that 
brotherly  love,  which  is  the  very  badge  of  the  Christian  profes- 
sion," &c.  Nor  does  this  apply,  as  Mr.  Southey  represents  it,  to 
"  the  great  body  of  his  followers  ;"  on  the  contrary,  all  know,  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Societies,  that 
till  his  death,  no  body  of  Christians  equal  in  number,  and  for  so 
long  a  period,  were  ever  more,  and  few  so  much,  distinguished 
by  the  absence  of  strifes  and  contention,  and  for  a  lively  aflfection 
toward  each  other.  Mr.  Southey  was  either  not  aware,  or  in- 
tentionally did  not  advert  to  the  fact,  that  Mr.  Wesley  did  not 
consider  his  Societies  as  a  sect,  and  as  such  separated  from  the 
body  of  religious  people  in  the  nation ;  and  hence  in  this,  and 
other  parts  of  his  writings,  he  addresses  the  religious  public,  and 
not  his  own  "  followers"  exclusively.  The  work  of  which  he  here 
speaks  he  knew  was  begun  and  carried  on,  not  merely  by  himself, 
his  brother,  and  those  who  continued  to  think  with  him,  but  by  Mr. 
Whitefield,  and  others  who  adopted  the  theory  of  Calvin  ;  and 
with  them  he  wished,  as  far  as  possible,  to  cooperate,  as  well  as 
with  all,  of  every  name,  "  who  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  in  sincerity," 
in  spreading  the  influence  of  religion.  When,  therefore,  he  speaks 
of  those  circumstances  which  had  arisen  to  obstruct  the  spread 
of  that  work  which  once  promised  very  rapidly  to  leaven  the 
whole  nation,  his  observations  have  a  wider  range  than  Mr. 
Southey  assigns  to  them.    The  prejudice,  censoriousness,  and 


448 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


subversion  of  brotherly  love,  of  which  he  complains  may  be  sup- 
posed to  be  the  results  of  that  controversy  which  had  been  stirred 
up  on  the  subject  of  predestination,  and  in  which  Mr.  Southey  has 
shown  that  candor  and  brotherly  affection  had  little  place.  The 
spirit  thus  excited  unquestionably  separated  those  who,  had  they 
continued  united,  would  have  produced  a  much  more  powerful 
and  extensive  effect  upon  society.  In  this  respect  that  contro- 
versy was  injurious  to  the  cause  of  religion.  It  chiefly  engaged 
the  attention  of  those  who  were  laboring  for  the  moral  benfit  of 
the  land ;  of  those  who  alone  had  that  truth  in  possession  by 
which  any  effectual  impression  could  be  made  ;  and  corroded  the 
tempers  of  many,  as  well  as  destroyed  their  cooperation.  Of 
the  moral  state  of  his  "  followers"  he  is  not  speaking. 

An  equally  unworthy  artifice  is  made  use  of  by  Mr.  Southey 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  paragraph  which  he  exhibits  as  a  further 
proof  that  little  moral  effect  was  produced  among  the  "followers" 
of  Mr.  Wesley.  Here  also  the  passage  is  mutilated,  and  that  is 
carefully  left  out  which  was  necessary  to  its  being  understood 
aright.  "  The  vineyard,"  Mr.  Wesley  observes,  "  brought  forth 
wild  grapes,  such  base  groveling  affections,  such  deep  earthly 
minded ness,  as  that  of  the  poor  heathens,  which  occasioned  the 
lamentation  of  their  own  poet,  O  curve  in  terras  anim(B  et  coeles- 
tium  inanes !  O  souls,  bowed  down  to  earth,  and  void  of  God." 
But  of  whom  is  this  affirmed  ?  Mr.  Southey  says  of  "  the  great 
body  of  Mr.  Wesley's  followers,"  and  yet  under  his  eye,  in  the 
same  paragraph,  these  censures  are  restricted  to  the  rich ;  to 
persons  "  increased  in  goods,"  and  consequently  were  not  spoken 
of  the  body  who,  as  Mr.  Southey  knows,  were  sufficiently  poor. 
But  then,  perhaps,  these  few  rich  persons  were  Mr.  Wesley's 
"followers?"  Mr.  Southey  cannot  even  thus  be  exculpated,  for 
almost  in  the  same  b?*eath  Mr.  Wesley  declares,  that  they  despis- 
ed communion  with  his  society.  He  doubtless  referred  to  a  few 
persons  who,  when  low  in  their  circumstances,  had  given  some 
hope  of  their  future  piety  and  usefulness,  but  becoming  rich,  they 
had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  so  far  from  being  the  great 
body  of  his  followers,  were  not  his  followers  at  all. — \^Rev.  R. 
Watson.] 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


449 


MR.  WESLEY'S  EPITAPHS. 


ON  THE  TOMB-STONE. 

To  the  Memory  of 
The  Venerable.  John  Wesley,  A.M. 
Late  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford. 
This  Great  Light  arose 
(By  the  singular  Providence  of  God) 
To  enlighten  these  Nations, 
And  to  revive,  enforce,  and  defend, 
The  Pure,  Apostolical  Doctrines  and  Practices  of 

The  Primitive  Church  : 
Which  he  continued  to  do,  by  his  Writings  and  his 
Labours, 
For  more  than  Half  a  Centurt  : 
And,  to  his  inexpressible  Joy, 
Not  only  beheld  their  Influence  extending. 
And  their  Efficacy  witnessed. 
In  the  Hearts  and  Lives  of  Many  Thousands, 
As  well  in  the  Western  World  as  in  these 
Kingdoms : 

But  also,  far  above  all  human  Power  or  Expectation, 
Lived  to  see  Provision  made  by  the  singular  Grace  of 
God 

For  their  Continuance  and  Establishment, 
To  THE  Joy  of  Future  Generations  ! 
Header,  if  thou  art  constrained  to  bless  the  Instrument 
Give  God  the  Glory  ! 

After  having  languished  a  few  days,  he  at  length  finished 
his  Course  and  his  Life  together  ;  gloriously 
triumphing  over  Death,  March  2.  An. 
Dom.  1791,  in  the  Eighty-eighth  Year 
Of  his  Age. 


450  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS* 


IN  THE  CHAPEL. 

Sacred  to  the  Memory 
Of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  M.A. 
Some  time  Fellow  q/"  Lincoln  College,  Oxford. 
A  Man,  in  Learning  and  sincere  Piety, 
Scarcely  inferior  to  any  : 
In  Zeal,  Ministerial  Labom-s,  and  extensive  Usefulness, 
Superior  (perhaps)  to  all  Men 
Since  the  days  of  St.  Paul. 
Regardless  of  Fatigue,  personal  Danger,  and  Disgrace, 
He  went  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 
Calling  Sinners  to  Repentance, 
And  Preaching  the  Gospel  of  Peace. 
He  was  the  Founder  of  the  Methodist  Societies  ; 
The  Patron  and  Friend  of  the  Lay  Preachers, 
By  whose  Aid  he  extended  the  Plan  of  Itinerant  Preaching 
Through  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
The  West  Indies  and  America, 
With  unexampled  Success. 
He  was  born  June  17th,  1703, 
And  died  March  2d,  1791, 
In  sure  and  certain  hope  of  Eternal  Life, 
Through  the  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  a  Crucified  Saviour. 
He  was  sixty-five  Years  in  the  Ministry, 

And  fifty-two  an  Itinerant  Preacher: 
He  lived  to  see,  in  these  Kingdoms  only, 
About  Three  hundred  Itinerant, 
And  a  Thousand  Local  Preachers, 
Raised  up  from  the  midst  of  his  own  People  ; 
And  Eighty  thousand  Persons  in  the  Societies  under  his  Care. 
His  Name  will  ever  be  had  in  grateful  Remembrance 
By  all  who  rejoice  in  the  universal  Spread 
Of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

Soli  Deo  Gloria. 


Not  long  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death  a  pamphlet  was  published, 
entitled,  "  An  Impartial  Review  of  his  Life  and  Writings."  Two 
love-letters  were  inserted  as  having  been  written  by  him  to  a 
young  lady  in  his  eighty-first  year  ;  and,  "  to  prevent  all  suspicion 
of  their  authenticity,"  the  author  declared  that  the  original  letters, 
in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Wesley,  were  then  in  his  possession, 
and  that  they  should  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  person  who 
would  call  at  a  given  place  to  examine  chem.  "  With  this  decla- 
ration," says  Mr.  Drew,  "  many  were  satisfied  ;  but  many  who 
CO-'".      ^  incredulous,  actually  called.    Unfortunately,  however, 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


451 


they  always  happened  to  call  either  when  the  author  was  en- 
gaged, or  when  he  was  from  home,  or  when  these  original  letters 
were  lent  for  the  inspection  of  others !  It  so  happened,  that 
though  they  were  always  open  to  examination,  they  could  never 
be  seen."  In  the  year  1801,  however,  the  author,  a  Mr.  J.  Col- 
let, wrote  to  Dr.  Coke,  confessing  that  he  had  written  the  letters 
himself,  and  that  most  of  the  pretended  facts  in  the  pamphlet 
were  equally  fictitious. 

The  ex-Bishop  Gregoire  has  inserted  one  of  these  forged  let- 
ters in  his  History  of  the  Religious  Sects  of  the  last  Century. 
He  reckons  among  the  Methodists  Mr.  Wilberforce,  who,  he  says, 
has  defended  the  principles  of  Methodism  in  his  writings,  and  le 
poete  Sir  Richard  Hill,  Baronet.  But  the  most  amusing  speci- 
men of  the  ex-bishop's  accuracy  is,  where  enumerating  among 
the  controverted  subjects  of  the  last  century,  La  Reforme  du 
Symbole  Athanasien,  he  adds,  d  cette  discussion  se  rattache  la 
Controverse  Blagdonienne  entre  le  curi  de  JBlagdon,  pres  de 
Bristol  J  et  Miss  Hannah  Moore. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES 


CONCERNING  MR.  WESLEY'S  FAMILY. 


Bartholomew  Wesley  is  said  to  have  been  the  fanatical 
minister  of  Charmouth,  in  Dorsetshire,  who  had  nearly  been  the 
means  of  delivering  Lord  Wilmot  and  Charles  II.  to  their  ene- 
mies. Lord  Clarendon's  account,  however,  differs  from  this ; 
he  says  that  the  man  was  a  weaver,  and  had  been  a  soldier  ;  but 
Mr.  Wesley  had  received  a  University  education. 

Samuel  Wesley,  the  elder,  was  a  student  in  a  dissenting  acad- 
emy, kept  by  Mr.  Veal,  at  Stepney  ;  and,  according  to  John 
Dunton,  was  "educated  upon  charity"  there;  an  invidious  ex- 
pression, meaning  nothing  more  than  that  the  friends  of  his  parents 
assisted  in  giving  him  an  education  which  his  mother  could  not 
have  afforded.  He  distinguished  himself  there  by  his  facility  in 
versifying ;  and  the  year  after  his  removal  to  Oxford,  published  a 
volume  entitled  "  Maggots,  or  poems  on  several  subjects  never 
before  handled."  A  whimsical  portrait  of  the  anonymous  author 
was  prefixed,  representing  him  writing  at  a  table,  crowned  with 


452 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


laurel,  and  with  a  maggot  on  his  forehead  :  underneath  are  these 
words  : — 

In's  own  defense  the  author  writes. 
Because  when  this  foul  maggot  bites 

He  ne'er  can  rest  in  quiet, 
Which  makes  him  make  so  sad  a  face, 
He'd  beg  your  Worship  or  your  Grace 

Unsight,  unseen  to  buy  it. 

It  was  by  the  profits  of  this  work,  and  by  composing  elegies, 
epitaphs,  and  epithalamiums,  for  his  friend  John  Dunton,  who 
traded  in  these  articles,  and  kept  a  stock  by  him  ready  made,  that 
Mr.  Wesley  supported  himself  at  Oxford  :  not,  as  I  have  erro- 
neously stated  (after  Dr.  Whitehead),  by  what  he  earned  in  the 
University  itself.  "  He  usually  wrote  too  fast,"  says  Dunton  *'  to 
write  well.  Two  hundred  couplets  a-day  are  too  many  by  two 
thirds  to  be  well  furnished  with  all  the  beauties  and  the  graces  of 
that  art.  He  wrote  very  much  for  me  both  in  prose  and  verse, 
though  I  shall  not  name  over  the  titles,  in  regard  I  am  altogether 
as  unwilling  to  see  my  name  atthe  bottom  of  them,  as  Mr.  Wesley 
would  be  to  subscribe  his  own." 

Dunton  and  Wesley  were  brothers-in-law,  and  when  the  for- 
mer wrote  his  "  Life  and  Errors,"  they  were  not  upon  amicable 
terms.  Dunton  could  not  forgive  him  for  having  published  a  let- 
ter concerning  the  education  of  the  Dissenters  in  their  private 
academies.  It  appears,  however,  by  his  own  account,  that 
Mr.  Wesley,  little  as  he  had  to  spare,  had  lent  him  money  in 
his  distresses ;  and  Dunton,  even  while  he  satirizes  him,  ac- 
knowledges that  he  was  a  generous,  good-humored,  and  pious 
man. 

Mr.  Nichols  (Literary  Anecdotes,  vol.  ii.  p.  84)  says  that  Mr. 
Wesley's  house  was  burned  twice.  John,  however,  only  says, 
that  the  villains  several  times  attempted  to  burn  it.  He  had 
made  great  progress  in  his  laborious  work  upon  the  Book  of  Job, 
having  collated  all  the  copies  he  could  meet  with  of  the  original, 
and  the  Greek  and  other  versions  and  editions.  All  these  labors 
were  destroj'^ed  :  but  in  the  decline  of  life  he  resumed  the  task, 
though  oppressed  with  gout  and  palsy  through  long  habit  of  study. 
Among  other  assistances  he  particularly  acknowledges  that  of  his 
three  sons,  and  his  friend  Maurice  Johnson. 

The  book  was  printed  at  Mr.  Bowyer's  press.  How  much  is 
it  to  be  wished  that  the  productions  of  all  our  great  presses  had 
been  recorded  with  equal  diligence  ! 

The  Dissertationes  in  Lihrum  Jobi,  I  have  never  seen  ;  but  I 
learn  from  Mr.  Nichols's  Literary  Anecdotes  (vol.  v.  p.  212) 
that  a  curious  emblematical  portrait  of  the  author  is  prefixed  to 
the  volume.  It  represents  "  Job  in  a  chair  of  state,  dressed  in  a 
robe  bordered  with  fur,  sitting  beneath  a  gateway,  on  the  arch  of 
which  is  written  Job  Patriarcha.  He  bears  a  scepter  in  his 
hand,  and  in  the  back-ground  are  seen  two  of  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt.  His  position  exactly  con'esponds  with  the  idea  given  us  by 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


453 


'  the  Scriptures  in  the  Book  of  Job,  chap.  xxix.  7 :  '  When  I  went 
out  to  the  gate  through  the  city,  when  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the 
street :'  according  to  the  custom  of  those  times,  of  great  men 
sitting  at  the  gate  of  the  city  to  decide  causes.  The  subscription 
on  a  tablet  beneath  his  feet.  An.  cetat.  circiter  LXX.  Quis  mihi 
trihuat  ?  mark  it  out  as  the  quaint  device  of  a  man  in  years  who 
thought  himself  neglected." 

Garth  and  Swift  have  mentioned  Wesley  with  contempt :  and 
Pope  introduced  him  in  the  Dunciad,  in  company  with  Watts. 
Both  names  were  erased  in  the  subsequent  editions.  Pope  felt 
ashamed  of  having  spoken  injuriously  of  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Watts, 
who  was  entitled  not  only  to  high  respect  for  his  talents,  but  to 
admiration  for  his  innocent  and  holy  life  :  and  he  had  become 
intimate  with  Samuel  Wesley  the  younger.  That  excellent  man 
exerted  himself  in  every  way  to  assist  his  father,  when  the  latter 
had  lost  all  hope»of«the  preferment  which  he  once  had  reason  to 
expect. 

"  Time,"  says  Mr.  Badcock,  "  had  so  far  gotten  the  better  of 
his  fury  against  Sir  Robert  (Walpole),  as  to  change  the  satirist 
into  the  suppliant.  I  have  seen  a  copy  of  verses  addressed  to  the 
great  minister,  in  behalf  of  his  poor  and  aged  parent.  But  I  have 
seen  something  much  better.  I  have  in  my  possession  a  letter  of 
this  poor  and  aged  parent,  addressed  to  his  son  Samuel,  in  which 
he  gi-atefully  acknowledges  his  filial  duty  in  terms  so  affecting, 
that  I  am  at  a  loss  which  to  admire  most,  the  gratitude  of  the 
parent,  or  the  affection  and  generosity  of  the  child.  It  was  writ- 
ten when  the  good  old  man  was  nearly  fourscore,  and  so  weak- 
ened by  a  palsy  as  to  be  incapable  of  directing  a  pen,  unless  with 
his  left  hand.  I  preserve  it  as  a  curious  memorial  of  what  will 
make  Wesley  applauded  when  his  wit  is  forgotten." — Literary 
Anecdotes,  vol.  v.  p.  220. 

The  only  works  of  the  elder  Wesley  which  I  have  met  with 
are  the  two  following,  which  were  probably  his  most  successful 
publications. 

The  Histoiy  of  the  Old  Testament  in  Verse,  with  One  hundred 
and  eighty  Sculptures,  in  two  Volumes,  dedicated  to  Her  Most 
Sacred  Majesty.  Vol.  I.  From  the  Creation  to  the  Revolt  of  the 
Ten  Tribes  from  the  House  of  David.  Vol.  II.  From  that  Revolt 
to  the  End  of  the  Prophets. — Written  by  Samuel  Wesley,  A.M., 
Chaplain  to  his  Grace  John,  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  Marquis 
of  Normanby,  Author  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  an  Heioic  Poem. 
The  Cuts  done  by  J.  Sturt.  London  :  printed  for  Cha.  Harper, 
at  the  Flower-de-luce,  over-against  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  in 
Fleet-street.    1704.  12mo. 

The  History  of  the  New  Testament,  representing  the  Actions 
and  Miracles  of  our  Blessed  Saviour  and  his  Apostles:  attempted 
in  Verse,  and  adorned  with  152  Sculptures.  Written  by  Samuel 
Wesley,  A.M.,  Chaplain  to  the  Most  Honorable  the  Lord  Marquis 
of  Normanby,  and  Author  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  an  Heroic  Poem. 
The  Cuts  done  by  J.  Sturt.    London  :  printed  for  Cha.  Harper, 


454 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


at  the  Flower-de-luce,  over-against  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  in 
Fleet-Street.    1701.  12mo. 

The  elder  Wesley  had  a  clerk  who  was  a  Whig,  like  his  master 
and  a  poet  also,  of  a  very  original  kind.  "  One  Sunday,  imme- 
diately after  sermon,  he  said,  with  an  audible  voice,  'Let  us  sing 
to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God  a  hymn  of  my  own  composing.' 
It  was  short  and  sweet,  and  ran  thus  : 

'  King  William  is  come  home,  come  home, 

King  William  home  is  come  ! 
Therefore  let  us  together  sing 

The  hymn  that's  called  Te  D'um.'  " 

—  Wesley's  Remarks  on  Mr.  HilVs  Farrago  Double-distilled. 
Works,  vol.  XV.  p.  109. 


THE  END. 


A  NEW  Classified  and  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Harper  & 
Brothers'  Publications  has  just  been  issued,  comprising  a  very- 
extensive  range  of  Literature,  in  its  several  Departments  of  His- 
tory, Biography,  Philosophy,  Travel,  Science  and  Art,  the  Clas- 
sics, Fiction,  &c. ;  also,  many  splendidly  Embellished  Produc- 
tions. The  selection  of  works  includes  not  only  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  most  esteemed  Literary  Productions  of  our  times, 
but  also,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  the  best  existing  authori- 
ties on  given  subjects.  This  new  Catalogue  has  been  construct- 
ed with  a  view  to  the  especial  use  of  persons  forming  or  enrich- 
ing their  Literary  Collections,  as  well  as  to  aid  Principals  of 
District  Schools  and  Seminaries  of  Learning,  who  may  not  pos- 
sess any  reliable  means  of  forming  a  true  estimate  of  any  pro- 
duction ;  to  all  such  it  commends  itself  by  its  explanatory  and 
critical  notices.  The  valuable  collection  described  in  this  Cata- 
logue, consisting  of  about  two  thousand  volumes,  combines  the 
two-fold  advantages  of  great  economy  in  price  with  neatness — 
often  elegance  of  typographical  execution,  in  many  instances  the 
rates  of  publication  being  scarcely  one  fifth  of  those  of  similar 
iBsues  in  Europe. 

*»*  Copies  of  this  Catalogue  may  be  obtained,  free  of  ex- 
pense, by  application  to  the  Publishers  personally,  or  by  letter, 
post-paid. 

To  prevent  disappointment,  it  is  requested  that,  whenever 
books  ordered  through  any  bookseller  or  local  agent  can  not  be 
obtained,  applications  with  remittance  be  addressed  direct  to  the 
Publishers,  which  will  be  promptly  attended  to. 

New  York,  January,  1847. 


1012  01045  7093 


